Asian Games 2023: South Korea’s League of Legends esports gold – without the GOAT, Faker – earns military service exemption
- Even with South Korea’s star player Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok unable to play because of illness, their team beat Chinese Taipei
- Military exemption comes after League of Legends gold medal is deemed to meet the requirement of being ‘an athletic prize of national prestige’
When South Korea’s League of Legends team beat Chinese Taipei at the Asian Games despite being without their star player, they not only captured the gold medal but also won an exemption from military service at home.
In South Korea, the law exempts athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers from military service if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige.
Whether online gamers should be included in the exemption has been a matter of discussion in South Korea, but there was no sign of any dissent at the Hangzhou esports arena during the gold-medal matches, where many in the crowd waved South Korean flags and cheered loudly as their team bested Chinese Taipei on Friday.
It was not as if the dominant South Korean team needed the extra incentive, as they went undefeated in the tournament, including against rival China as they advanced to the final round.
South Korea’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok – known to most as the League of Legends GOAT – fell ill and did not play in the best-of-three final against Chinese Taipei. Since he played in earlier games, however, he also will be granted the exemption from military service that all able-bodied men are required to perform between the ages of 18-28, which came just in the nick of time for the 27-year-old Lee.
His teammates picked up the slack admirably, however, beating Chinese Taipei handily in two games powered by strong performances from Park Jae-hyeok and Choi Woo-je.
