SR, the operator of Korea's SRT high-speed rail service, said Tuesday it has activated a three-stage "detection-blocking-investigation" system to prevent illegal ticket bookings using macro programs and other unauthorized software. The average daily number of blocked users during this year's Lunar New Year holiday surged approximately 94-fold compared to last year's Chuseok holiday, the company said.
According to SR, the three-stage system combines technical blocking with law enforcement response. In the first stage, the company introduced a macro-blocking solution optimized for its own platform. The system monitors abnormal booking attempts in real time, including rapid repeated access requests and identical pattern approaches, and automatically blocks them.
The second stage involves IP-based blocking. When abnormal access is detected, the system immediately restricts access to the website and mobile app. During peak demand periods such as holidays, a stricter threshold is applied, blocking access that exceeds 150 requests per minute.
In the third stage, SR conducts joint investigations with the National Police Agency. Based on collected records of abnormal access, investigations are expanded and legal penalties are being strengthened. During this year's Lunar New Year period, the company referred five macro users and 52 scalping cases to police for investigation.
Blocking results have surged sharply. The average daily number of blocked users jumped from 14 during last year's Chuseok to 1,319 during this year's Lunar New Year holiday.
"We will eradicate illegal bookings by advancing our macro-blocking system," SR CEO Jeong Wang-guk said. "We will lead the way in creating a fair ticketing environment that the public can trust."