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The news came after multiple attempts from T1 to warn extreme toxic haters
Kang “Ashley Kang” Ji-hye, a Korean esports journalist, tweeted the announcement
Here is the English subbed press conference from Faker’s legal team
To clarify, Faker is not suing 95% of the internet, only a select few whose vitriol included graphic imagery towards him and even his family
The law suit might come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with Korean celebrity culture. But the Korean idol culture, which included esports especially League of Legends, can be particularly obsessive and dangerous. Last week we covered how a KR streamer got stalked and killed in-game 121 times by her haters.
The people Faker’s suing is not just typing ‘Faker noob mid’ or any online banter, they have repeatedly and unrelentingly abused him with slanders, insults among other harassment that affected him and his family’s wellbeing.
Regardless, suing someone online might still be relatively outlandish, and one may even wonder if there was any legal basis for this.
Criminal Act Article 311 in KR law stated
A person who publicly insults another shall be punished by imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding two million won. <Amended by Act No. 5057, Dec. 29, 1995>
If Faker succeeds in his case, this will be a huge legal precedence for future action against toxicity in online environment. However the idea of legal action being possible in online environment is a frightening prospect for some.
What are your thoughts on the case? Let us know in the comments.
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