The 2nd Korea Grand Music Awards (2025 KGMA), presented by Ilgan Sports, held the inauguration ceremony of its organizing committee and pledged to hold a successful award ceremony.
On the 1st, the inauguration ceremony of the '2025 KGMA' organizing committee took place on the 13th floor of KG Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. The ceremony was attended by Kwak Hye-eun, the organizing committee chairwoman and CEO of EdailyM, as well as producer Kim Hyung-seok, who served as the chair of the judges, and composer Joo Young-hoon, who was co-organizing committee chair and judge for the second consecutive year. Additionally, music production team members including composer Kang Jeong-hoon from Stars' War, lyricist Kang Tae-kyu, and popular music critics Cha Woo-jin and Shim Jae-geol added to the prestige of the event as judges. The president of the Korea Music Copyright Association, Ahn Jae-yeol, and singer Tony An were also set to serve as judges this year despite personal circumstances preventing their attendance.
Following the award letter presentation ceremony, organizing committee chairwoman Kwak Hye-eun said, "It's already been a year since we started the 2nd KGMA. Everyone is working sincerely from their respective places every day to create a wonderful ceremony," and added, "Ilgan Sports will also strive to create an award ceremony that can shine a good light in the world."
Co-organizing committee chair Joo Young-hoon noted, "Through last year's 1st award ceremony, I felt again that K-pop is no longer just our festival." He expressed hope that the awards would grow into a memorable ceremony that happens every November, enjoying love from global fans through content that can encompass the world. Judge Kim Hyung-seok shared his wish that, among many year-end award ceremonies, through fair judging, the authority of the ceremony would increase and it would serve as an opportunity to discover new artists.
Judges also expressed their determination to create a meaningful award ceremony through fair evaluations. Judge Shim Jae-geol stated, "While all award ceremonies may have similar numbers, I will strive to uncover valuable insights that cannot be found within those numbers, helping to make it a deeper and more authoritative ceremony."
KGMA is an award ceremony newly established by Ilgan Sports, a representative media outlet for entertainment and sports in Korea, to present a new paradigm for the Korean popular music industry. The inaugural event was successfully held on November 16 and 17 last year. At the 1st award ceremony, teams such as aespa, New Jeans, DAY6, (G)I-DLE, ATEEZ, and ZEROBASEONE enjoyed the joy of winning the prestigious 2024 Grand Trophy.
The 2025 KGMA is expected to become a festival where artists who achieved significant success in various fields of popular music, including K-pop and band music, as well as trot, and who have received great love from fans domestically and internationally throughout the year, can come together as one with their fans. This year's ceremony will be held on November 14 and 15 at the same location, Inspire Arena. Irene from Red Velvet and Natti from Kiss of Life will serve as MCs on the respective days of the 14th and 15th, with actress Nam Ji-hyun returning to co-host both days.
The KGMA is hosted by Ilgan Sports (EdailyM) and co-organized by the KGMA organizing committee, CreatorRing, and DIO. Official fan voting is currently underway through the FanCast app. The artist lineup, award categories, judging criteria, and other details will be sequentially disclosed this month via the website and the voting app FanCast.
[OSEN]