"Paid Off All That Debt While on Air"... Lee Sang-min, Winner of the Entertainment Grand Prize, Gets Emotional

[Financial News] Singer and broadcaster Lee Sang-min was honored with this year's SBS Entertainment Awards Grand Prize.
On the 30th, at the SBS Prism Tower in Sangam, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Lee Sang-min won the Grand Prize at the 2025 SBS Entertainment Awards, surpassing strong contenders such as Yoo Jae-suk, Jun Hyun-moo, Tak Jae-hoon, Shin Dong-yup, Seo Jang-hoon, and Jee Seok-jin.
Since 2017, Lee Sang-min has appeared on SBS's long-running variety show 'My Little Old Boy,' where he was affectionately nicknamed 'Gungsang-min' for his frugal lifestyle, earning widespread love from viewers. He also led 'Dolsing Fourmen,' which aired its final episode on the 23rd after four years and five months, bringing laughter to audiences.
Lee Sang-min said, "The first recording of 'My Little Old Boy' began after I moved to a place with no air conditioner but with a significantly reduced rent. I showed my life exactly as it was. I simply revealed my struggles to get by, never expecting to receive so much love."
He continued, "I never imagined I would be able to pay off all that debt, which once seemed impossible to escape, through broadcasting. 'My Little Old Boy' represents my second life. My beloved mother passed away, I finally overcame those difficult moments, and this year, I got married to the person I love," he said, his voice trembling with emotion.
Last year, Lee Sang-min cleared 6.97 billion won in debt incurred from a failed business after 20 years, and on April 30 this year, he registered his marriage at Gangnam District Office with a non-celebrity ten years his junior.
Lee Sang-min remarked, "I received so much love from SBS that it would not be enough to repay even with a lifetime of paying off debt." He added, "This award truly belongs to my wife, who is the greatest gift of my life," expressing gratitude to his spouse.
Finally, he stated, "I will strive to live a better life so as not to bring any trouble to SBS, where my entire life is recorded," and offered a deep bow to the viewers.
The Top Excellence Award went to Lee Seo-jin and Kim Kwang-gyu of 'My Grumpy Secretary,' Choi Jin-hyuk of 'My Little Old Boy,' and Lee Hyun-yi and Kim Jin-kyung of 'Kick a Goal' and 'Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny,' respectively.
The Excellence Award in the show variety category was given to actress Ji Ye-eun, while the Producer’s Award, selected directly by PDs, went to Jun Hyun-moo of 'The Ballad of Us' and Yang Se-chan of 'Running Man.'
This year’s Achievement Award was presented to comedy legend Lee Kyung-kyu. He humorously commented, "The highlight of the Entertainment Awards is the Achievement Award. You have to work for over 40 years without major issues and win the Grand Prize at least once at the network. The most important virtue is character. That’s why I received the Achievement Award this year."
At the ceremony, a new award called 'AI-Selected Face of SBS' was introduced, given to the person who appeared most frequently on SBS throughout the year based on AI analysis. Yoo Jae-suk received the honor, having logged a total of 981 minutes and 24 seconds of airtime.
Meanwhile, the Grand Prize winner at the MBC Entertainment Awards held on the 29th was Yoo Jae-suk. Earlier, the top honor at the KBS Entertainment Awards went to Jun Hyun-moo.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter