Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, used an official profile photo mimicking e-sports superstar "Faker" Lee Sang-hyeok's signature "shh" pose. In response, Faker's team T1 noted that it was "unrelated to the player." T1 also stated that they would take measures such as deleting the post to prevent any harm to the player.
According to industry sources on the 7th, T1 stated through their official social media (SNS) the night before that "Faker is not associated with any political position, political party, or political campaign," adding that they hope "Faker's image or related expressions will not be interpreted or misunderstood as having specific political meaning."
Furthermore, T1 added that "they are making efforts to take measures such as deleting the post and will do their best to ensure that the player suffers no harm."
Faker is the captain of the T1 League of Legends (LoL) team. He made history last year by winning the LoL World Championship a record five times. In the same year, he was inducted as the inaugural member of the "Hall of Legends" chosen by Riot Games, earning him recognition as the "GOAT" (Greatest of All Time) in the e-sports community.
Earlier on the 5th, Kim Moon-soo's campaign released the official profile photo to be used during the presidential election campaign. The Kim campaign stated in a press release that "this shoot took place at a domestic studio where Faker, known as a legend of the globally popular LoL game and the world's top e-sports player, was photographed in the past." Kim also posted promotional material using the photo on Facebook, initially tagging "Faker" as a hashtag but later deleted it.