In League of Legends seems to be a significant scandal brewing in the LCK, the best league in the world. At the center of the drama is 23-year-old Kim “Clid” Tae-min, the former jungler of super star Faker. He is now playing for Hanwha Life: However, the team has now removed him from the lineup. 2 women have made allegations against him, claiming he sexually harassed both over social media apps. One was still a minor at the time when the professional allegedly harassed her.
Who is Clid?
- The most internationally recognized season for the South Korean was 2018/2019, as he was the jungler for Faker at T1, the arguably most famous LoL team in the world. However, he reached the peak of his individual career between 2020 and 2021, managing to be part of the “All-Pro” teams of the LCK for 3 seasons in a row.
- Other prestigious teams in his career included, besides T1, the elite teams JD Gaming, Gen G., FunPlus Phoenix, and since November 2022, Hanwha Life, which is well-staffed with stars like Viper, Kingen, and Zeka. Kingen and Zeka were both part of the DRX team, which surprisingly became world champions in 2022. Currently, Hanwha Life is ranked 4th in Korea.
- Clid is considered one of the top 10 junglers in the world, even though in tournaments other junglers like Canyon, Oner, or Kanavi shone.
Clid played one season with Faker:
Inappropriate Messages Sent via Social Media
These are the allegations against him: On June 27, a woman reached out via social media and said that Clid had approached her inappropriately over the app “KakaoTalk” over a longer period of time.
He is said to have written things like (via reddit):
- “Hello, you cow”
- “I am hard now”
- “Say something before I pinch your breasts”
- “Am I supposed to fuck? No, I will fuck you.”
After the woman’s hint that he should spare such remarks, Clid reportedly said that he had chosen the words out of affection. The woman then complained to his team but said she was ignored, after which she decided to sue him.
Further allegations from a second woman arose, claiming Clid behaved similarly towards her on Facebook and at a time when she was still a minor. Clid was said to have been aware of her minority status.
PR Agency Issues Statement on Behalf of Clid
What are the reactions? Currently, there are no official statements from Clid or his team, but the situation has already led to some consequences. Several players and employees of the LCK have already unfollowed Clid on social media – even a video from the LCK about Clid has been taken off the internet.
Clid’s marketing agency has issued a statement in his name and apologized for his behavior (via twitter) However, they emphasize that Clid never met the person.
Additionally, the agency stresses that they did not intend to hurt anyone but apologize for the behavior and describe it as embarrassing. They take responsibility for not having managed the transition from the virtual world to the real world “elegantly”.
His team has also removed Clid from the squad. Instead of him, the 18-year-old Jo “Grizzly” Seung-ho will make his debut in the LCK.
How is this being discussed? On reddit, LoL fans are quite cold-hearted. They are openly recommending which jungler his team should replace Clid with.
Overall, it seems that the reddit community doesn’t think much of Clid. It is said that he is a terrible player. If he is not allowed to play the champion he wants, he would secretly sabotage his team’s game.
Other Reddit users are also taking jabs at Clid: The bot laner Viper must have read the news and cried tears of joy that he is rid of this terrible jungler.
One user says:
I love it when serious allegations of sexual misconduct arise, and the LoL community is the first to think about how it affects the teams, not the victims or potential further victims.
Another user responds: This shows that LoL has become a “real sport”. When a football player is suspended for sexual misconduct, fans do not care about the victims either, but ask: How long?
The last major scandal in LoL involved players due to illegal betting:
Scandal shakes LoL: 38 players, coaches, managers banned – 12 for life
Update June 29, 9:12 AM: Grizzly has now played his first game against Canyon, one of the top 3 junglers in the world. Hanwha Life lost 0-2 against Dplus KIA. The young jungler played 0-3-4 and 1-3-3. So, he was a weak point for his team.
What will happen to Clid going forward is currently unknown. Hanwha Life apparently does not have many options in the middle of the season.
