[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] The "Korea Broadcasting Awards," the nation’s most prestigious broadcasting festival, will determine its winners based entirely on viewer votes.

The organizers of the 53rd Korea Broadcasting Awards announced on the 16th, “We will conduct online viewer voting for the Best Actor (Male/Female), Best Variety Performer (Male/Female), and Best Singer categories through the voting platform IdolChamp until midnight on the 5th of next month.”
This year’s Korea Broadcasting Awards are introducing new judging criteria that prioritize viewers’ choices. To reflect the opinions of viewers—the ultimate evaluators of broadcast content—winners in the five categories mentioned above will be selected based solely on the results of 100% viewer voting. Changes have also been made to the award categories; the existing Best Actor and Best Variety Performer awards will be separated into male and female categories for the ceremony.
A total of 15 actors, variety show personalities, and singers (including groups) across these categories—who have demonstrated the most outstanding performances over the past year in terms of buzz, acting skills, contribution to their programs, and musical performances—have been nominated for this year’s awards.
Nominees for Best Actor (Male) include Ji Sung from *Judge Lee Han-young*, Yoo Yeon-seok from *Shin-i-rang Law Firm*, and Heo Nam-joon from *Brave New World*. In the Best Actress (Female) category, Im Ji-yeon from *Brave New World*, Nam Ji-hyun from *My Beloved Thief*, Kim Se-jeong from *The Moon Flows Over the River*, and Kim Hye-yoon from *I’m Human Starting Today* will compete.
In the Best Male Variety Performer category, nominees include Sung Si-kyung for “The Seasons – Sung Si-kyung’s Ear Candy,” Lee Seo-jin for “My Manager Is Too Picky – The Secretaries,” Seo Jang-hoon for “Seo Jang-hoon’s Millionaire Next Door,” Yoo Jae-suk for “What Do You Do When You’re Bored?,” and Im Young-woong for “Island Bachelor Hero.” The nominees for Best Female Variety Performer are Lee Soo-ji from “Wait, Seriously!”, Kim Sook from “The Boss’s Ears Are Donkey Ears,” and Kim Yeon-kyung from “Rookie Director Kim Yeon-kyung.”
Finally, nominees for Best Singer include the groups IVE, ENHYPEN, NMIXX, Cortis, SEVENTEEN, Ailette, Tomorrow X Together, ATEEZ, All Day Project, Alpha Drive One, Stray Kids, EXO, Zero Base One, NCT WISH, and Lisenne.
A reward event is also being held to encourage viewer voting. Through a random drawing among voters, tickets to attend the main awards ceremony—to be held on September 3 at the MBC Public Hall—will be provided. Voting takes place via the official voting channel, the “Idol Champ” app, and anyone, regardless of age, can vote up to 100 times per day. Detailed voting instructions can be found on the Idol Champ app.
Launched in 1973, the Korean Broadcasting Awards is a broadcasting festival hosted and organized by the Korea Broadcasting Association to recognize television programs that have brought joy and inspiration to viewers, as well as to encourage the efforts of broadcast professionals and foster their creative spirit. Last year, the Grand Prize at the 52nd Korean Broadcasting Awards went to the MBC drama *Such an Intimate Traitor*, starring Han Seok-kyu.
The awards ceremony will be held on September 3—Broadcasting Day—at the MBC Public Hall and will be broadcast live on the MBC channel that day. The exact time and other details will be announced at a later date.
The full list of nominees by category can be found on the Idol Champ app and the Korea Broadcasting Awards’ official social media channels.