Fans of Kiwoom DRX, who have suffered a prolonged slump in performance since winning the 2022 World Championship, staged a truck protest urging team management to communicate their operational direction and host an official town hall meeting.
Organized through voluntary donations from Kiwoom DRX fans, the truck protest took place on the 11th in front of Kiwoom Securities headquarters in Yeouido and around the DRX headquarters in Hongdae. This is not the first time fans have staged a truck protest over the team's management; a similar protest took place in September 2025.
The key catalyst for the fans' collective action is an accumulation of poor results and opaque roster management. Following their 2022 Worlds victory, Kiwoom DRX started with a 9th-place finish in the 2023 LCK Spring Split, followed by 6th in the 2023 LCK Summer Split, and has struggled through five separate 9th-place finishes spanning the 2024 Spring Split, the 2025 Summer Split and regular season, up to the 2026 regular season.
On top of this, fan skepticism grew regarding the team's player development process, particularly surrounding how the ADC and jungler were utilized this season. After the season concluded, head coach Cho Jae-eup posted on the Kiwoom DRX fan cafe, stating, "Regardless of the reason, a 9th-place finish is the head coach's responsibility." He offered explanations on key points fans questioned—such as benching jungler 'Vincenzo,' replacing 'Jiwoo' with 'LazyFeel' due to injury, and the abrupt trade for 'Aiming' late in the season—but this did little to resolve the fans' core concerns.
Highlighting that the team responded to the 2025 protest with silence—issuing no official statement or meeting—fans expanded the location of this year's protest beyond the parent company to include the headquarters of naming sponsor Kiwoom Securities. They emphasized, however, that the intent was not to criticize the sponsor, but rather to directly convey the severity of the team's situation to a key stakeholder of the brand.
The fan organizers demanded, "We need an official town hall meeting attended directly by team management, who hold real authority and responsibility for team operations, rather than scapegoating specific coaching staff on the ground. Management must directly explain the team's long-term roadmap to fans, including their assessment of the prolonged slump, roster construction, and direction for prospect development."
