SEOUL - K-drama actor Kim Seon-ho proves that his popularity has not been affected by his false abortion scandal by winning Outstanding Korean Actor at the Seoul International Drama Awards.

The category is based solely on votes from K-drama fans.

The Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) actor, who was falsely accused last October by his former girlfriend of coercing her into an abortion, had gone on a hiatus after the scandal broke, even as his star was rising due to the popularity of the series.

He maintained a low profile even after he was subsequently exonerated by screenshots of text messages between them and was dropped from films and television shows, as well as by advertisers.

The 36-year-old only resurfaced in recent months for a play, Touching The Void, which quickly sold out its two-month run.

Kim garnered 53.39 per cent of the votes for outstanding actor in the one-month poll, conducted through voting app Idol Champ in August.

He beat nominees such as actor-singer Park Jae-chan and actor Park Seo-ham, who both appear in Semantic Error (2022), a popular drama in the boys’ love genre.

Blackpink’s Jisoo won for her acting debut in romantic drama Snowdrop (2021 to 2022) with 41.58 per cent of the total votes, overtaking actresses Lee Se-young (The Red Sleeve, 2021) and Son Ye-jin (Thirty-Nine, 2022).

The Seoul International Drama Awards, which started in 2006, is an annual award ceremony that honours television productions from around the world.

This year’s awards sees 225 dramas from 39 countries and regions competing, with winners decided by a jury. The award ceremony will be held on Sept 22.