ROK President Lee Jae Myung’s decision to personally award the country’s highest sporting honor to an e-sports star highlights a growing gap between the administration’s political signaling and the state’s fragmented regulatory and institutional capacity, raising risks to policy credibility in South Korea’s services-sector governance.

On Jan. 2, Lee awarded professional gamer Lee Sang-hyeok — better known as “Faker” — the Cheongryong (Blue Dragon) Medal of Sports, marking the first time a gamer has received the distinction. The honor places competitive gaming alongside traditionally celebrated disciplines represented by figures such as soccer player Son Heung-min and figure skater Kim Yuna.