South Korean balladeer Sung Si-kyung topped local real-time music charts on Wednesday with his latest track, “Promise Not to Forget.”

The track rose to the top of Korea’s eight major music charts, including Melon, Genie, Mnet and Naver Music, right after its release at midnight the same day.

Sung unveiled the song ahead of the release of his winter-themed album, “Winter Wonderland,” on Dec. 9.

K-pop girl band Apink’s “LUV” and Kyuhyun’s “At Gwanghwamun” were trailing Sung’s hit on the music charts.

“Promise Not to Forget” is a mellow song suitable for winter, featuring Sung and rookie artist Kwon Jin-ah. It is a remake tune originally sung by veteran singers Lee Moon-sae and Lee So-ra.

His album comes three years after the release of his seventh studio album, “The First Time,” in 2011. In recent years, he has been active as a TV entertainer, hosting cable TV shows including “Non-Summit” and “Witch Hunt.”

He will hold his year-end concert, “Winter,” from Dec. 5-7 at the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul.

Debuting in 2001, the 35-year-old singer gained recognition as a top ballad singer after producing a slew of hit songs including “Like the First Time,” “You Touched My Heart” and “We Make a Good Pair.”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)