Girls’ Generation scores triple win at Seoul Music Awards

Korean pop group Girls' Generation won three awards — including the grand prize — at the 19th High1 Seoul Music Awards yesterday.

The nine-member girl band also won the Main Prize and Best Digital Sound Source Award at the annual event held at the Olympic Park Fencing Stadium Wednesday.

"Thank you so much, we are so happy that we got such great results," the girl band said in their acceptance speech. "We are so grateful to the people at the agency and we would like to express our gratitude to all the fans who have supported Girls' Generation."

Boy band Super Junior also scored triple wins at the ceremony — taking the Main Prize, Popularity Award and Hallyu Special Award — but expressed their disappointment over the absence of several members of the group including Kang-in and Hangeng.

Kang-in has been off the screen since getting involved in a drunk driving hit-and-run incident in October last year and engaging in an assault at a bar the previous month. Hangeng, the only Chinese member of the 13-man band, asked for the termination of his contract with his agency SM Entertainment in December.

"We miss the members who couldn't be here with us," the group was quoted as saying. "We send our support to the members who are going through difficult times."

Idol group 2PM won the Main Prize and Popularity Award while groups After School, T-ara and BEAST were named best new artists of the year.

The Seoul Music Awards featured performances from numerous K-pop artists including Psy, who won the trophy for Best Performance Culture, and Kim Jang-hoon who brought out a robot during his musical performance.

The 19th High1 Seoul Music Awards – List of Winners

• Grand Prize : Girls' Generation

• Main Prize : SHINee, Baek Ji-young, Kara, Girls' Generation, Son Dambi, Kim Taewoo, Davichi, 2PM, Brown Eyed Girls, Super Junior

• Best New Artist : After School, T-ara, BEAST

• Popularity Award : 2PM, Super Junior

• Best Trot Artist : Park Sang-chul, Park Hyun-bin

• Best Performance Culture : Psy

• Best Hip Hop : Tiger JK

• Best R&B : Bobby Kim

• Best Digital Sound Source : Girls' Generation

• Best Album : Drunken Tiger

• Hallyu Special Award : Super Junior