Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Lee Sang-min’s journey earns him SBS top honor, 'Running Man' wins again
Lee Sang-min delivers his acceptance speech at the 2025 SBS Entertainment Awards at SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, Tuesday. Captured from SBS YouTube
By Jane Han
Lee Sang-min took home the top honor at the 2025 SBS Entertainment Awards on Tuesday, with the ceremony highlighting his return after years of personal hardship while also celebrating an industry veteran and introducing a new AI-based award.
Lee’s win resonated with viewers familiar with his long-publicized struggles, many of which have unfolded on SBS variety programs over the years. Beating out heavyweights such as Yoo Jae-suk and Jun Hyun-moo, Lee’s personal journey emerged as a defining storyline of the awards night.
Lee has appeared on SBS’s long-running variety show “My Little Old Boy” since 2017, where his frugal lifestyle and candid portrayal of financial difficulties earned him the nickname “Gungsang-min,” a play on his name meaning someone who lives in extreme thrift. He also spent four years and five months on “Dolsing Fourmen,” a talk-variety program that recently ended its run.
Accepting the grand prize, Lee became emotional as he reflected on how openly his life has been documented on television. “I never imagined that just showing how hard I struggle to get by would be loved by so many people,” he said, adding that he never expected to fully pay off his debts.
Calling “My Little Old Boy” an archive of what he described as a second life, Lee recalled rebuilding himself, losing his mother, and finally closing a painful chapter. He also shared that he married earlier this year.
Lee thanked SBS production staff for their support and dedicated the award to his wife, calling her “the greatest gift of my life.” He concluded by bowing deeply to viewers and vowing to live more responsibly so as not to disappoint the network that has chronicled much of his life.
The ceremony also recognized achievements across SBS’s variety lineup. The Excellence Award went to Lee Seo-jin and Kim Kwang-kyu for “My Grumpy Secretary,” Choi Jin-hyuk for “My Little Old Boy,” and Lee Hyun-yi and Kim Jin-kyung for “Kick a Goal” and “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny.”
Veteran comedian Lee Kyung-kyu received the lifetime achievement award, joking that the honor required decades of steady work, at least one grand prize at the broadcaster, and good character, before drawing laughter by suggesting the category be abolished next year.
Voted by viewers, “Running Man” won the Most Popular Program Award for the second straight year, while “Our Ballad” was named Program of the Year.
In a nod to the AI era, SBS introduced the “AI Picked Face of SBS” award, which went to Yoo Jae-suk, who logged the highest total screen time this year at 981 minutes and 24 seconds.
The ceremony was hosted by Jun Hyun-moo, Lee Su-ji, and Cha Tae-hyun, with SBS variety cast members staging celebratory performances throughout the night.