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Gen.G's Ruler won't face league sanctions over tax evasion allegations

Published: 03 May. 2026, 14:03

Esports player Park Jae-hyuk of Gen.G, known as Ruler, checks his equipment before the start of the 2025 LCK finals at Inspire Arena in Incheon, on Sept. 28, 2025. [YONHAP]

Esports player Park Jae-hyuk of Gen.G, known as Ruler, will not face league-level sanctions over his alleged tax evasion, the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) announced Friday.

“We have reached a final decision not to impose separate disciplinary measures [against the player],” LCK said in a statement.

The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist came under fire for allegedly trying to evade taxes after a tax tribunal file was made public in March.

According to the files, from 2018 to 2021, the player had entrusted administrative tasks such as salary contract matters to his father and paid him wages, but the National Tax Service (NTS) deemed this an unrelated expense and imposed comprehensive income tax. The NTS also concluded that Park had tried to dodge taxes in stock transactions by trading under his father's name instead of his own, for which the tax authority levied additional gift taxes.

The Tax Tribunal dismissed the player’s appeal, concluding there had been intent to avoid taxes, but the player has denied the allegations, stating, “There was no intentional concealment of income.”

The LCK office formed an investigative committee, including external experts, on April 1 and has been reviewing the matter since. The final decision was reached unanimously by all members of the investigative committee after reviewing the facts and legal analysis, according to LCK.

The committee determined that the allegations against the player did not constitute criminal conduct or immoral behavior and damage to dignity as prohibited under league regulations.

“Violations of the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act, including tax evasion, were not confirmed, nor was there evidence of an investigation being launched or criminal punishment imposed,” the office said. “It was confirmed that the relevant procedures were fully completed, including the fulfillment of payment obligations in accordance with administrative measures by the tax authorities.”

It also noted that the fact that the player proceeded with the process under the guidance of a professional tax representative alone could not be taken as evidence of legitimacy.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]