Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok continues to be a leader for the T1 organization both on the Rift and off. On March 5, the veteran League of Legends mid laner announced that he would be donating 30 million Korean Won ($25,000 USD) to the Community Chest of Korea to help aid efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19 (more commonly referred to as the coronavirus) in South Korea.
"I felt devastated for those that are working day and night to battle the COVID-19," Faker said in his statement. "I really wanted to aid those battling the outbreak and felt that donating to the Community Chest of Korea was the optimal choice. I hope that everyone bands together to overcome this terrible situation, and hope to see real support being given to those necessary."
"Coronavirus has affected nearly every corner of the world and we want to do our small part to help the communities where we live and play," T1 CEO Joe Marsh said. "In addition to the $25,000 Faker has donated, all streaming proceeds from the T1 League of Legends team this week will be donated to the Community Chest of Korea to help low-income families combat the novel coronavirus."
Due to COVID-19 concerns, South Korea's premier League of Legends league, LoL Champions Korea, has been held without audiences since the start of the season on Feb. 5. On Feb. 25, the media room was closed indefinitely. Most recently, the LCK announced that it would be halting all activities at the end of the first round robin on March 6. There has been no announcement on when the LCK could return.
Alongside the virus' origin point in China, South Korea has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 discussion due to its rigorous testing methods and healthcare efforts around the virus. More than 113,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 worldwide, and more than 3,900 people with the virus have died, most of them in China, according to The Associated Press. More than 62,000 people have already recovered.