[UPDATE 11/22] Hanwha Life Esports announced that they terminated the contract with top laner Park "Morgan" Gi-tae under mutual agreement. In their tweet, they said "We would like to express our gratitude to him, who has done his best with the team, and will wish him good luck in his future endeavours."

[UPDATE 11/16] Hanwha Life Esports announced that mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and bot laner Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu have become free agents. Hanwha Life Esports said, “We thank them for their passion and dedication over the past time with the team and we respect their decision,” but they assured that they will continue to talk with the players to make the best results.

Original article:

According to a report by Yoon Min-seob of Gookmin news, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon will become a free agent at the start of the offseason period. This would end his one-year stint with Hanwha Life and the mid laner is set to pursue a new contract elsewhere. 

Yoon Min-seob of Gookmin News: "Chovy is going FA".

Chovy is among the most valuable mid laners in League of Legends at the moment, considered by many to be the best laner in the world. His ability to solo carry games helped an otherwise underdog team like HLE reach top 8 at Worlds 2021, elevating Chovy's offseason prospects even higher.

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Competition for Chovy's contract is expected to be fierce, both within the LCK and outside. When the player left Griffin in 2019, reports stated that Chovy had received lucrative offers from LCS teams, with Evil Geniuses than a frontrunner, offering what was essentially a blank check to attract the mid laner to North America. At the time, however, Chovy preferred to stay in Korea and play another season with his former Griffin coach Kim "cvMax" Dae-ho, which reunited the two at DRX. 

Chovy's free agency status follows that of other hotly-desired prospects, chief of which being Park "Teddy" Jin-seong's departure from T1. However, there are many other players whose contracts expire this year, including those of Heo "ShowMaker" Su and even Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok/