Faker becomes an honorary Korean police officer to help discourage online gambling

Lee Sang-hyeok, better known to his fans as Faker, is perhaps the most enduring and successful esports pro of all time, with—among a great many other honors—a record six League of Legends world championships to his name stretching back to 2013. When he re-signed with T1 in 2022, the team called him the “Unkillable Demon King,” and fair enough because he went on to claim three of his six world titles—among a great many more honors—in an undefeated three-year stretch from 2023-25. Time included him in its 2026 list of the most influential people in sports; he’s a member of the ESL Esports Hall of Fame and Riot’s own LoL Esports Hall of Legends.

Also, he’s a cop now.

No, he’s not out there packing heat and walking a beat. As reported by the Seoul Economic Daily (via Insider Gaming), Faker has been named an honorary police officer by the Korean National Policy Agency and will serve as an “ambassador for cyber-gambling prevention.” He’ll appear in promotional videos and posters for the “Youth Cyber Gambling Voluntary Reporting System.”

“I feel honored to be appointed an honorary police officer and ambassador, and I feel a great sense of responsibility,” Faker said. “I will actively participate in ambassador activities, such as widely publicizing the dangers of cyber gambling and the voluntary reporting system to young people.”

“For youth cyber gambling, it is important to detect it before the problem deepens and to promptly begin counseling and treatment,” Korean National Police Agency acting commissioner general Yoo Jae-sung said. “We hope Faker’s positive influence will instill the courage in young people who need help to report without hesitation.”

The reporting program launched in May and will run until August 31, recording 806 self-reports thus far. Those who turn themselves in receive counselling and a “gambling addiction assessment” before being placed in a treatment program; the report says the police plan to grant “maximum leniency” to self-reporting cyber-gamblers, “taking into comprehensive account the gambling amount, degree of remorse, and treatment progress.”

The World Health Organization reported in 2024 that roughly 5.5% of women and nearly 12% of men globally “experience some level of harm from gambling.” In 2025, Riot itself embraced sports betting sponsorships for Tier 1 League of Legends and Valorant teams in the US and EMEA. More broadly, sports betting has surged in popularity in recent years, and the rise of prediction markets in the US have lawmakers “weighing where financial markets end and gambling laws begin,” says The National Conference of State Legislatures.