South Korean League of Legends team wins gold at Asian Games 2023, Players secure a military exemption

— South Korea's League of Legends team beat Taiwan on Friday at the Asian Games despite being without its star player, capturing not only the gold medal but also winning an exemption from military service at home.

In South Korea, the law exempts athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers from military service if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige.

Whether online gamers should be included in the exemption has been a matter of discussion in South Korea, but there was no sign of any dissent at the Hangzhou esports arena during the gold-medal matches, where many in the crowd waved South Korean flags and cheered loudly as their team bested Taiwan.

It was not as if the dominant South Korean team needed the extra incentive, as it went undefeated in the tournament, including against rival China as it advanced to the final round.

South Korea's Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok — known to most as the League of Legends GOAT — was ill and did not play in the best-of-three final against Taiwan. Since he played in earlier games, however, he also will be granted the exemption from military service that all able-bodied men are required to perform between the ages of 18-28, which came just in the nick of time for the 27-year-old Lee.

His teammates picked up the slack admirably, however, beating Taiwan handily in two games powered by strong performances from Park Jaehyeok and Choi Wooje.

Earlier in the day, China's League of Legends team hung on to take bronze, overcoming a strong challenge from Vietnam.

In addition to League of Legends, the lineup consists of: Arena of Valor Asian Games Version (also known as Honor of Kings); Peace Elite Asian Games Version (also known as PUBG Mobile); Dota 2; Dream Three Kingdoms 2; Street Fighter V: Champion Edition; and EA Sports FC (also known as FIFA Online 4).

Competition forms vary with the genre but gold medals will be awarded for each game.

China took gold on Tuesday in Arena of Valor, with Thailand winning gold in EA Sports FC on Wednesday and South Korea winning gold in Street Fighter V on Thursday. Kim Gwanwoo, the South Korean who won the Street Fighter gold, is 44 so the military exemption was not in play.

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