By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
A KORAIL employee was caught Tuesday for selling train tickets at inflated prices ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the KORAIL employee, identified as Kang, used the KORAIL memberships of his colleagues and bought 230 train tickets before selling some of them at a price 10,000 won higher than the regular prices through the Internet.
The 35-year-old’s brother also participated in the scalper’s scheme.
KORAIL employees can buy up to 20 tickets per person, 10 more than ordinary people.
Police said that the two brothers also sold about 70 tickets during the “Sollal” or lunar New Year holiday season.
A police officer said that the investigation is being expanded to check whether other KORAIL employees have been engaged in similar schemes.
Scalpers are having a heyday ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
Many people are making trips back to their hometowns, making it hard to come by train tickets, a preferred means of travel during a holiday.