League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the organizer of the professional league for League of Legends esports in Korea, has announced the introduction of a player loan system starting from this year's summer split to enhance the league's competitiveness.

Riot Games, which conducts LoL esports in eight regions worldwide, has introduced loan systems in various regional leagues starting in 2024, and LCK has decided to align with the purpose and method of this introduction.

In implementing the loan system, LCK considered ways to positively impact both teams and players, aiming to elevate the overall competitiveness of the league while maintaining integrity.

Less experienced players will have the opportunity to secure playing time by being loaned to other teams, thus alleviating growth stagnation due to lack of experience and enhancing competitiveness. From a team perspective, loaning out players who have not been given playing opportunities allows for the assessment of their potential, and teams acquiring loaned players can expect short-term performance improvements by adding competitive players to their roster.

To loan a player, they must be registered on the team's roster. However, players cannot be loaned immediately after signing with a team; they must complete at least one split after the contract before becoming eligible. Additionally, a player who has been loaned out for two consecutive years must wait for one split before becoming eligible for loan again. Only direct player loans between two teams are allowed, and under no circumstances are third-party player loans permitted. Loaned players cannot be traded during the loan period.

Loans are only conducted within the same region. Players affiliated with the LCK roster cannot be loaned to foreign teams. Furthermore, loaned players are subject to restrictions on the number of matches they can play for the borrowing team based on their participation in the previous split. If a player participated in more than 50% of their team's total LCK matches in the previous split, they can only participate in LCK CL matches for the borrowing team. If a player participated in more than 50% of their team's total LCK CL matches in the previous split, they can only participate in LCK matches for the borrowing team. If a loaned player did not participate in any matches in the previous split, or if they participated in less than 50% of both their team's LCK and LCK CL matches, the borrowing team must choose whether to assign the player to either LCK or LCK CL for participation.

There is also a limit on the number of eligible players for loan. The combined total of players loaned out by a team and players loaned in by a team cannot exceed two. A team cannot loan out or loan in two players from the same team, and loans from the same team are limited to a maximum of one season. After the expiration of a one-season loan, a player cannot be loaned back to the same team. However, loans to different teams are allowed.

The loan period ranges from a minimum of one split to a maximum of one season. Loan applications and approvals are only possible during the off-season, after the team’s domestic and international tournaments are all over.

The loan system will be implemented starting from the 2024 summer split, and detailed information can be found in the rulebook.