An unusual event occurred recently within the LCK tournament as player Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee – the Support player of DAMWON Gaming faced a significant internal punishment from the team.
However, the reason for Beryl’s punishment was not due to toxic behavior, rule violations, smurfing, or other professional misconduct, but because he was discovered engaging on a website that specializes in posting images of female anime characters in sexy outfits.
Beryl was “exposed” after leaving a comment on a post about a female character in Mabinogi. This comment was captured by other gamers and shared on Twitter, leading a segment of the South Korean gaming community to criticize Beryl for engaging in “unwholesome activities.”
After receiving the information, DAMWON Gaming promptly issued an apology to fans and announced an internal punishment for Beryl.
Specifically, this player will have to write a self-reflection report on his actions, complete 40 hours of community service, and attend a course on ethical behavior and standards on the Internet.
Among these, the community service punishment is a rather severe form of discipline, equivalent to the penalty for a player caught smurfing.
Contrary to the reaction of the South Korean gaming community, the international League of Legends community finds this punishment quite perplexing. Most opinions suggest that Beryl’s actions are not worth condemnation. Simply put, it is his personal interest, and his remarks did not carry any negative or offensive content.
However, the punishment has been officially issued and Beryl has committed to complying strictly. Perhaps this case will serve as a valuable lesson for other professional League of Legends players in South Korea regarding their behavior on social media.