Aired Dec. 30 as the 2025 SBS Entertainment Awards with UPbit, the ceremony was steered by a three-host team of Jun Hyun-moo, Cha Tae-hyun and Lee Soo-ji, and packed with 2025’s standout SBS variety stars from shows including "Running Man," "My Little Old Boy," "Kick a Goal," "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny," "Our Ballad," "Manager Seojin," "Whenever Possible" and "My Turn," stoking anticipation well before curtain time.
Across its three-part broadcast, the show led the night in the 20?49 demo on all channels, posting 2.2% in Part 1, 2.1% in Part 2 and 1.7% in Part 3, with a minute-by-minute high surging to 6.2%. (All figures via Nielsen Korea, Seoul Capital Area households.)
Grand Prize honoree Lee Sang-min, a stalwart of "My Little Old Boy," delivered an emotional speech: “All I did was show my messy, hard-fought life as it is, and I never imagined so many people would embrace me,” he said, calling the show his “second life.” “'My Little Old Boy' let me start over. My beloved mom passed along the way, but now I’m married to someone I love.” He added, “SBS has given me so much love―more than I could repay in a lifetime. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll give it my all. I’ll work to live better than I do now so I never become a burden to the network that holds my life’s memories,” before bowing deeply.
"Running Man," celebrating its 15th anniversary, took home 2025’s Most Popular Program. Kim Jong-kook promised, “We’ll keep running for 20, even 30 years,” while Song Ji-hyo added, “Here’s to more reasons to smile next year.” The long-running hit also dominated with four total wins, adding Producer Award, AI-Picked Face of SBS and a Special Award. In a standout moment, HAHA received the Special Award for appearing in every single episode since the show’s July 2010 premiere. “I’m not exceptionally gifted, but I’ve been consistent―that’s why this award means so much,” he said, dedicating the honor to his wife Byul, adding, “Credit goes to Kim Go-eun, who supports me at home.”
Elsewhere, the Producer Award went to Jun Hyun-moo and Yang Se-chan, while Top Excellence Awards were handed to Lee Seo-jin, Kim Kwang-kyu, Lee Hyun-yi and Kim Jin-kyung. Attending the awards for the first time with “Manager Seojin,” Lee Seo-jin teased, “Since you even gave me a trophy, I’ll consider a new season.” The buzzy “The Ballad of Us,” touted as the first-ever ballad audition series, earned Program of the Year (Buzz).
Rookie of the Year honors went to breakout 2025 variety stars Lee Soo-ji and Kim Won-hoon for their work on “My Turn.” Hosting her first awards show, Lee Soo-ji drew praise for a smooth MC turn: “Since I’ve won Rookie, I’ll keep that rookie mindset and work hard to bring you easy, comfortable laughs next year.” Kim Won-hoon, long dubbed an “awards show underdog,” finally scored his first trophy: “I debuted in 2015, so it’s been 10 years. I don’t see this as a prize for being ‘good,’ but for hanging in there―and I’ll keep going strong.”
Adding heart to the night, "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny" couple Seo Eun-hye (formerly Jung Eun-hye), a visual artist with developmental disabilities, and singer Cho Young-nam received the Good Influence Award. “I’m grateful we could show that people with developmental disabilities can build a married life,” Seo said. “I’ll keep working, keep loving, and live vibrantly to 100.”
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
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