Most League of Legends players know that widespread criticism comes with being a pro, especially when playing for a top team in one of the best regions in the world. Even Faker, who is widely considered to be the greatest of all time, isn’t exempt from this fact.
There is, however, a line that shouldn’t be crossed by fans, and now, Faker’s legal team has been forced to take action after a group of people has continuously sent malicious personal attacks toward the star. This constant harassment has given Faker, his family, and those around him undue amounts of stress and pain, according to the legal team’s statement.
“While we were monitoring the various online communities, we learned that a small group of hateful netizens’ malicious posts took up a large chunk of all the posts in those communities,” the legal team said in a session with media, according to a translation by Inven Global. “The accused are a small group of people that have continuously left such posts and comments since the beginning of the year.”
Examples of the hateful comments were not specified so that the identity of those being sued would not be revealed, but one example was slander toward Faker’s mother, along with drawings that “would be considered unspeakably foul.” T1 told these individuals to stop attacking Faker, but the warnings were never heeded.
They also said that the hateful comments increased after the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational when T1 failed to win the trophy in their home country of South Korea. It was a disappointing finish for the perennial world champions, especially after going undefeated during their run to the 2022 LCK Spring Split title.
People who violate the insult law in Korea are usually sentenced to a fine between one to two million Korean won, but if a case is severe enough, perpetrators can also be subjected to jail time, according to Faker’s legal team. Due to the constant nature of the harassment, the legal team expects that the punishment will be greater than a simple monetary fine.
