League of Legends star Ruler avoids LCK punishment following tax fiasco

Gen.G League of Legends player Park 'Ruler' Jae-hyuk recently found himself in hot water, after a 2023 tax ruling against him became public. Despite Ruler subsequently paying the bill, his status as both a celebrity and an Asian Games gold medalist, the latter of which had earned him exemption from Korean military duty, has come under heavy public scrutiny. Naturally, the MOBA's Korean league, the LCK, was obligated to carry out its own investigation. Today, I'm sure to Ruler's relief, it has decided against sanctioning the Worlds winner.

The ruling, translated into English from Korean via Google, stipulates that Ruler's tax mishap wasn't a criminal offense (section 9.2.8 of the LCK Rulebook), as the LoL pro hadn't intentionally tried to evade paying tax. Ruler's situation seems to have been more of an admin error, having paid his father over a three-year period between 2018 and 2021 for his managerial duties. The issue, it seems, was that this arrangement wasn't properly documented, while some of Ruler's personal assets were held under his father's name.

In a statement made by Ruler on Instagram last month (again, translated), the player notes that his father had "quit his job" in 2018 to manage him. As for the stock, Ruler says that he placed it under his father's care because he "didn't have enough experience" managing his own assets. Said shares have since been shifted back to Ruler.

As noted, Ruler's already paid his dues, which is reflected in the LCK's ruling. Outside noise aside, this has been a pretty straightforward administrative process. The tax tribunal punished Ruler. He complied. Job done. Under section 9.2.9 of the rulebook, this constitutes neither 'immoral conduct' nor damage to the league's reputation. Additionally, even if Ruler could be sanctioned for this, the LCK's statute of limitations for penalties had already expired.

So, at the very least, we'll continue to see Ruler popping off in the LCK. However, he may continue to face public pressure. Military exemption is a huge honor, and any sort of unscrupulous behavior, intentional or not, is grounds for public ire. Hopefully, he'll be able to keep his head in the game when Gen.G take on Dplus Kia tomorrow.