Controversy Surrounds SBS Special Award: Heo Nam-jun Wins for 'Wonderful New World' While Lim Ji Yeon is Excluded

As SBS presents Special Awards to performers and production staff who contributed to content competitiveness in the first half of the year, controversy is mounting over the selection criteria for the drama 'Wonderful New World'. While Lim Ji Yeon, who led the core narrative of the work, was excluded, Heo Nam-jun was selected as the sole winner, sparking various interpretations and criticisms online.

At the '2026 SBS First Half Awards' held on the 2nd at the SBS headquarters in Mok-dong, Seoul, Special Awards were presented to performers and staff who contributed to enhancing content competitiveness during the first half of the year. In the drama category, Heo Nam-jun and Kang Hyeon Ju, who wrote the script for 'Wonderful New World', were selected as winners.

During his acceptance speech, Heo Nam-jun expressed gratitude for the public interest generated by the work, stating, "During our first meeting, the writer told me, 'Once this work airs, you won't be able to walk around comfortably,' and that has actually become a reality."

Heo Nam-jun played the key character 'Cha Se-gye', serving as a major pillar of the work's success. Based on his delicate emotional range, stable acting, and the persuasiveness of the romance narrative, he significantly increased his public recognition and is being evaluated as having solidified his position as a next-generation leading actor through this project.

However, following the awards ceremony, attention focused more on Lim Ji Yeon's absence than on Heo Nam-jun's win. From the planning stages, 'Wonderful New World' was produced with Lim Ji Yeon at its center, and the main narrative of the drama unfolded around the characters Shin Seo Ri and Kang Dan-shim, played by her. In the early stages of the broadcast, many evaluated that Lim Ji Yeon's versatile acting, shifting between comedy and serious drama, drove the work's topicality.

Because of this, opinions are spreading across online communities and SNS that if the Special Award is intended for the actor representing the work, Lim Ji Yeon should have also been included in the recipients. In particular, reactions continue to express disappointment that a single winner was chosen when various methods, such as joint awards, were possible.

The controversy is gaining more attention as it is being compared to past SBS Special Award cases. In the past, Special Awards were often presented to the central leading actors representing the work. In 2019, Kim Namgil and Lee Seung Gi; in 2021, Lee Je-hoon; in 2022, Kim Namgil; in 2023, Han Suk-kyu; in 2024, Park Shin Hye; and in 2025, Lee Je-hoon, each received the Special Award as the leading actor representing their respective works. Compared to these precedents, analysis suggests that Heo Nam-jun's solo win is somewhat different from the existing trend.

However, it is noted that this controversy is not directed at questioning Heo Nam-jun's individual eligibility for the award. There is a general consensus among industry professionals and viewers that Heo Nam-jun made a meaningful contribution to the work's success and character building, and that his performance was worthy of a Special Award.

Ultimately, the core of this controversy lies not in denying the merits of a specific actor, but in whether SBS provided sufficient explanation regarding the criteria and principles applied in selecting the representative winner of the work. Considering that the planning, narrative structure, and promotional strategies of the work were all developed around Lim Ji Yeon, along with past award practices, viewers' questioning regarding the consistency and transparency of the selection criteria is expected to continue for some time.