LOL gamer attempts suicide, confesses to match rigging

A former League of Legends professional gamer attempted suicide yesterday in Busan, just minutes after he confessed via Facebook that he was involved in match fixing, police said.

In a briefing, the Bukbu Police Precinct in Busan said 22-year-old gamer Cheon Min-ki was found at about 6 a.m. on the roof of a recycling shed next to his apartment building, after police were alerted by a neighbor, who heard groaning coming from outside. Cheon was then transported to a hospital. He suffered fractures in his legs and jaw.

According to the police, Cheon jumped from the 12th floor of his apartment building, though his fall was broken by the roof of the shed. Cheon had written on his Facebook page 10 minutes before jumping that he “was involved in match rigging.”

“I no longer have a reason to live,” he wrote. “I can’t confide in anyone; no one can help me.”

Cheon, who played for AHQ KOREA under the nickname “ahq K Promise,” elaborated on the match manipulation on the fan site’s bulletin board in a post titled “I confess to AHQ KOREA’s game fixing.”

The four-page entry provides what appears to be direct quotations from all the parties involved.

“Only me and Acttosin [a gaming nickname] actually participated in the rigging,” he wrote.

He also blamed the team’s director, Roh Dae-chul, alleging that Roh “duped” him and his colleague early last year during the spring championships, threatening them and claiming that “the team won’t be able to advance to the finals if [we win against] the conglomerate teams.”

There are 12 professional gaming teams in Korea, many sponsored by major companies. League of Legends, better known as LOL, is a multiplayer online battle arena video game that rose to prominence in the Korean gaming industry.

The Korea e-Sports Association formed an exclusive task force yesterday and plans to file a bill of indictment today into what appears to be match rigging, the association announced. It also suspects Roh may have been blackmailing the players.

An officer from Busan’s Bukbu Police Station vowed to launch a probe by their cyberteam once the case is received.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, CHA SANG-EUN [selee@joongang.co.kr]