(OSEN)

Rookie K-pop bands GOT7 and WINNER jointly won the New Artist Award at the 29th Golden Disc Awards, held in Beijing, on Wednesday.

In an earlier online popularity poll, which opened on Dec. 10, GOT7 claimed the top slot, garnering 54 percent of the votes. WINNER came in second, with 11 percentage points behind.

Although GOT7 topped the popularity poll, the two jointly won the title after taking into account judges’ opinions and the volume of digital song sales.

During their acceptance speech, WINNER members attributed the honor to their parents, fans and label mates under YG Entertainment. They also shared their joy with another member Lee Seung-hoon who was absent from the event due to health reasons.

GOT7 also thanked its avid fans, parents and staff members of its label JYP Entertainment.

The septet said, “We wish BamBam and Yugyeom could be here.”

The two could not make it to the event as they could not secure the requisite visa to enter China.

Earlier on Tuesday, the organizer of the event enraged K-pop fans after belatedly announcing the absence of a few K-pop bands including BEAST and BTS due to visa problems, only a day before the ceremony.

Both GOT7 and WINNER debuted early this year under two of the biggest labels in Korea, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment.

The two-day award ceremony will continue on Thursday, with the winner for the major honors to be decided.

Started in 1986, the annual Golden Disc Awards has broadened its presence as South Korea’s representative music awards.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)