The 9 most influential characters in 2023 in Korea
The character of the year: Football player Son Heung Min
Sports character of the year: Player Lee Sang-hyeok
The political character of the year: Politician – Former Minister of Justice Han Dong -Hoon
Economic character of the year: President Hyundai Motor Group Chung Eui-Sun
Social character of the year: Prosecutor Shin Yun-ho
International character of the year: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Cultural characters of the year: Writer Han Kang
IT/Health/Science character of the year: Professor Young-Gyu Ko
Entertainment character of the year: Singer Lim Young-Woong

On December 18, The Times published a list of the world's top 10 athletes in 2023, including Lionel Messi football player, baseball star Shohei Ohtani and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. Besides, Faker also appeared in the center in the cover photo of The Times magazine with the football player Sam Kerr, boxer – KSI and baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
The Times explained that they often did not report on eSports in the sports category. However, The Times acknowledged that Faker became a prominent star of the Olympics, like Usain Bolt, not far away. In addition, The Times also introduced Faker with the nickname “Immortal Demon King”.
In 2023, Faker and T1 had 2 seconds in LCK in the summer of 2023, LCK Spring 2023 before the throne of the 2023 World Championship.