League of Legends: HLE's Clid suspended for one year amid sexual harassment allegations

South Korean League of Legends (LoL) esports pro Kim “Clid” Tae-min of Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) has been suspended from competitive play for one year amid allegations of sexual harassment.

According to a report from South Korean news outlet Naver on Monday (4 September), Clid has been banned from participating in the LoL Championship Korea (LCK), LCK Challengers, and other official LoL esports leagues in other regions.

Clid was first accused of sexual harassment by two women in June 2023 when a Twitter (now known as X) user named “Seoyeon” posted several explicit DMs publicly. Several messages in the now-deleted post were explicit, with the player allegedly describing his arousal, insulting Seoyeon and expressing intent to grope her.

In the hours that followed, Seoyeon also uploaded Kakao Talk (a Korean messaging app) screenshots and selfies she claims the player sent her.

The now-deleted Twitter user claims that she reported this to Hanwha Life Esports, requesting for compensation for the “mental damage” Clid did to her, but the pleas were allegedly ignored.

As a result of Seoyeon's now-deleted tweet, another user identified as "erica_ahri" came out with charges against Clid, saying that he had sent her sexually explicit texts while she was still a minor in 2022.

The now-deleted post showed that Clid allegedly wanted to meet up with her and sent her inappropriate messages.

Although the users involved and the posts are now deleted, the screenshots were forwarded to the LCK for investigation.

The case also came to the attention of the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee in July, with Lee Do-kyung, aide to the official Rep Lee-Sang-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea, addressing the incident.

According to his column posted on Naver, the case was “problematic in many ways”, alleging that Clid’s agency, Shadow Corporation, only defended the player and issued a statement that declared Clid innocent.

HLE slammed for slow reaction, avoiding interviews

On top of that, Clid’s team HLE were also criticised for their actions after the allegations surfaced.

Lee slammed the team for refusing to give player interviews after their match against Dplus KIA in the LCK, which was customary, as well HLE's publics relations personnel and management for refusing media interviews.

HLE also posted a statement about the incident only eight days after the allegations came out. The org said it was “taking into account situations in which additional circumstances may arise in this case” and at the time “working hard to identify the facts and illegal acts from a position that is as objective and neutral as possible”.

Since the allegations came out, Clid missed the rest of the matches HLE had throughout the LCK Summer Split.

He has since been replaced by Jo “Grizzly” Seung-hoon as the team’s jungler.

Clid found guilty and suspended for one year; barred from competing locally and abroad

According to Naver, the LCK Secretariat decided on 4 July that Clid was subject to disciplinary action for making sexually explicit comments and improper picture requests to many women through online postings in June.

In order to get to the bottom of what happened and why, the LCK Secretariat convened with the LCK Investigation Committee.

“We checked to see whether there was a breach of LCK rules in this matter,” they said.

After thoroughly examining online posts, player statements, and LCK's own investigation, it was found that some women who reported this have “endured harm” from the players' inappropriate sexual actions.

According to the LCK's investigation, "there were instances where it was clear they did not tolerate such behaviour and expressed their refusal".

"It's important to note that making sexual remarks to a minor female was deemed unacceptable in all cases," the LCK said.

Clid's 12-month suspension came as a result of the severity of the situation.

In Lee Do-kyung’s column on Naver, he also mentioned that in the LCK Penalty Index, there is a section called 'Chapter 9 Code of Conduct' that has specific rules about certain behaviours.

It indicates that players, coaches, team executives, employees, agents, and others involved with the teams must not engage in any unwanted sexual advances.

If something would make a reasonable person feel uncomfortable or offended sexually, it is considered sexual harassment. This includes sexual threats, pressure for sexual acts, or promises of rewards for such acts, which are strictly prohibited.

Breaking these rules results in penalties.

The first violation can lead to a written warning, a one-month suspension, a ban from LCK and LCK CL, and a fine of up to 10 million won. Repeated offences carry the same penalties. A third violation may result in a three-month suspension, a ban from LCK and LCK CL, and a fine of up to 30 million won. A fourth violation can lead to a two-year suspension from LCK.

Clid began his esports career in 2016, where he has been a jungler for JD Gaming, which is part of the Chinese league, LoL Professional League (LPL). He then transferred to other powerhouse teams, including T1 in 2018, Gen.G in 2019, FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) of the LPL in 2022, and finally with HLE in late 2022.

Hanwha Life has yet to comment on the disciplinary action against Clid and his status with the team.

The team finished third in the LCK Summer Playoffs this year but failed to qualify for Worlds 2023, despite signing 2022 World Champions Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon and Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo, along with 2021 World Champion Park “Viper” Do-hyeon.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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