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Gen.G Ruler fined by the LCK for in-game verbal abuse
Just days before the start of the 2026 LCK Cup, Gen.G's Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk has already been handed his first blow. The veteran AD carry has been fined 800,000 KRW (rougly $550) for in-game verbal abuse instances found in his ranked account. The fine was not strictly tied to the act itself, however, but rather the fact that these instances were a recurring event for the player throughout 2025.
The LCK Want to Set an Example
As preparation for the start of this year's LCK Cup, the LCK reviewed the account history of all players registered for the tournament (as well as those set to participate in the LCK CL 2026 Kickoff) for any instances of unethical behaviour.
Now, before we move on, it's worth noting that Ruler had already received a warning by the LCK back in March of 2025. At the time, the warning came after Ruler was found to have received a chat restriction in-game due to verbal abuse.
During their most recent review, ran on January 5th of this year, the LCK found that Ruler had received another chat restriction, which lasted 7 days, back in October of 2025.
The fact that this saw Ruler become a repeat offender prompted the LCK to take more meaningful measures, leading to their fining the star ADC 800,000 KRW ($550).
Understanding LCK Penalties
Ultimately, both Riot Games and the LCK feel that pro players should be setting an example for League of Legends players everywhere. In order for this to be true, though, there need to be consequences to their actions.
This is precisely why the LCK runs frequent checks across the game histories of all accounts tied to players participating in both the LCK and the LCK CL (Tier-2). As for the penalties they're ready to dish out, this is what these look like for instances of in-game verbal abuse specifically:
LCK Penalty Index for in-game verbal abuse:
- First offense: formal written warning.
- Second offense: A fine of up to 1 million KRW ($680) and/or up to a 3 game suspension or suspension from participating in the LCK/LCK CL.
- Third offense: A fine of up to 3 million KRW ($2,050) and/or up to a 10 game suspension or suspension from participating in the LCK/LCK CL.
Given Ruler's penalty, perhaps his offense may not have been that serious. All things considered, though, both Ruler and Gen.G should consider themselves lucky that the player was only fined 800,000 KRW instead of receiving a suspension.
You can read the full announcement of the sanction by the LCK in Korean here.
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Featured image credit: LCK
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LCK Cup 2026: Groups, Schedule, Format, and More