Actor Lee Jong-suk expressed his delight with being awarded the Most Popular Actor prize for the TV drama "Pinocchio" and regretted that he was not present to pick up the award in person at the Seoul ceremony Tuesday.

The Most Popular Actor and Actresses awards at the annual Paeksang Arts Awards are decided through a public monthlong online vote.

"I am leaving a message of gratitude because I heard the good news today," he said through his Instagram page. "I received news of the results (belatedly) and wasn't able to change my schedule."

(Lee Jong-suk's Instagram)

Lee is currently in Japan, where he held a fan meeting on Sunday. The 200 tickets for the event sold out within 3 minutes.

"In terms of my work, I don't have much confidence, but the only time I feel like a (true) star is when I meet you fans," said Lee. "I think I can understand your heart."

The 25-year-old actor thanked fans for their generous support and vowed to be nominated again at the same ceremony in the future.

"I'll show you, it’ll be amazing -- I say that, even though I don't know what project I'm going to do next," said Lee.

The actor also shared a photo of himself getting his hair styled.

Lee won acclaim in the recent TV drama "Pinocchio." His female costar Park Shin-hye also won Most Popular Actress in the film category for the period flick "The Royal Tailor."

By Yoon Sarah (sarah356@heraldcorp.com)

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