JYJ's Junsu proved his popularity can withstand any barrier.
On Thursday, JYJ member XIA Junsu (Kim Junsu) received the popularity award at the 25th annual Seoul Music Awards. The singer won the award thanks to fans voting in an online survey, revealing Junsu's popularity despite being unable to appear on television to promote his music.
However, the singer was unable to appear at the award ceremony to accept the award because of a ban viewed unfair by Korean lawmakers. He was recognized via a video segment.
Since 2009, Junsu and the other members of JYJ (Park Yoochun and Kim Jaejoong) have been blacklisted by Korean television channels as singers (although appeared as actors) due to alleged manipulation by their former agency, SM Entertainment.
Junsu took 46.7 percent of the votes, winning the top spot as Korea's most popular musician.
Despite only appearing on one show to promote his music in 2015, Junsu still walked away with the top prize.
In 2015, XIA released two albums, "Flower" and "Yesterday."
Following the release of "Flower," Junsu performed his music on a television broadcast for the first time in six years.
Junsu received no recognition of his popularity award during Thursday's broadcast of the 25th Seoul Music Awards.
In 2015, the South Korean Congress passed a law known publicly as "The JYJ Law" to prevent broadcast bans without due reason. Under the law, broadcasters will be subjected to fine if they unjustly ban entertainers.
Upon hearing the news, the singer posted a message on Twitter.
"I recognize the time and effort my fans have put in to help me win the award," he wrote. "I will remember this forever. Thank you and I love you all so much."
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
