On December 29, 2025 (KST), at the “2025 MBC Entertainment Awards,” comedian Yoo Jae Suk took home his ninth Daesang Grand Prize from MBC (his 21st overall)…
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…and his acceptance speech has since dubbed him a class act for being big-hearted.
Comedian Yoo Jae Suk at the “2025 MBC Entertainment Awards.” | Yonhap
As he celebrated his win, Yoo Jae Suk expressed his gratitude to his co-stars and production staff from Hangout With Yoo, including Haha, Joo Woo Jae, and even those who have left the show, like Park Jin Joo and Lee Mi Joo. But it was the “calculated” inclusion of Lee Yi Kyung‘s name that drew the most attention.
Previously, Lee Yi Kyung parted with Hangout With Yoo after a scandal surrounding his personal life broke out. He later claimed that the production team of the beloved program had forced his departure. Then, at the “2025 Asia Artist Awards,” Lee Yi Kyung left out Yoo Jae Suk from his acceptance speech, sparking brief rumors of discord between the two.
Lee Yi Kyung Raises Eyebrows After Omitting Yoo Jae Suk’s Name From Acceptance Speech
While Lee Yi Kyung later clarified that his speech wasn’t “targeting” Yoo Jae Suk, viewers weren’t too convinced. That said, Yoo Jae Suk’s obviously intentional choice to name and thank Lee Yi Kyung is being praised online, as him “being the bigger person” and shutting down any more rumors about their relationship.
| theqoo
- “Congrats, congrats.”
- “I wonder how [Yi Kyung] must’ve felt listening to that acceptance speech from his room. Congrats, Jae Suk.”
- “This is the heart of a Grand Prize winner. Congrats, Yoo Jae Suk.”
- “I could never do that myself. Congrats, Yoo Jae Suk.”
- “Seriously amazing. Such a big-hearted person.”
- “💚💚💚💚💚”
- “As expected, he is the bigger person.”
- “I hope to see him healthy and successful for a long, long time.”
- “Truly on a different level… His class and character stand out. Congrats on the Grand Prize, Yoo Jae Suk. 💚💚
- “For sure. Wishing Jae Suk good health for a long, long time. Congrats 💗”
Read Yoo Jae Suk’s full acceptance speech below:
“I honestly don’t know how to properly express my thanks. Earlier, when I came up here, I was asked what I thought my chances were, and I said 49 percent. But now that I’m actually holding this award, I can’t help but think maybe I should’ve said 51 percent instead. Still, I truly don’t know how to thank you enough.
First, I want to thank my parents. I also want to thank my father-in-law and mother-in-law. And to someone who means everything to me, someone I’m endlessly grateful for—Na Kyung Eun—I want to sincerely say thank you as well.
I’d also like to thank everyone working on this program: Producer Jin Yong, Producer Sung Soo, Producer Ji Won, Producer Ji Sun, and so many other producers; Writer Min Sun, Writer Soo Ae, and all the writers; not only our main camera director but also the many staff members who work so hard behind the scenes. Our audio director, who’s been with me since the Infinite Challenge days, is still working with us on Hangout With Yoo today. To all the countless members of the production team, I sincerely thank you.
Haha and Woo Jae are currently with me on Hangout With Yoo, and I really want to say a heartfelt thank-you to those two brothers as well. And although they unfortunately left the show after being with us until this year, I truly want to say that Jin Joo, Mi Joo, and Yi Kyung all worked incredibly hard, and I’m very grateful to them.
As I mentioned earlier, Hangout With Yoo changes its concepts week by week, so there are often many unpredictable situations. With only three days left until the final edit each week, countless staff members put in tremendous effort to get the broadcast ready. I want to once again sincerely thank you all for making it possible for each episode to go on air, week after week.
Most of all, to the many viewers who cherish and support Hangout With Yoo, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, neither I nor Hangout With Yoo—and probably many of MBC’s variety programs standing here today—would have been able to continue until now.
Sometimes, when I receive a big award, while I personally feel honored and grateful, I also find myself thinking about this: even at such a late hour tonight, so many staff members from not justHangout With Yoo but many other programs are sitting in the audience, applauding and cheering us on. They always work hard behind the cameras, but aside from moments like year-end award shows, we rarely get the chance to greet them one by one, make eye contact, and properly express our gratitude.
Not just me, but everyone here is someone’s precious son or daughter, isn’t that right? Thanks to your dedication and hard work, I’ve been able to stand on this stage more than 20 times. With sincere feelings, I want to once again express my deepest thanks to all the production staff. Thank you. You all worked so hard this year. Even though the broadcasting environment continues to grow more challenging, there are so many people working in variety shows who still strive to bring joy and laughter to viewers. I want to tell all my colleagues, seniors, and juniors: you did a great job.
As Hyun Moo and Do Yeon mentioned earlier, this is my ninth Daesang here. Last year, I was honored to receive my 20th Grand Prize at another network, and with today’s award, I’ve now received my 21st. No one knows what the future holds. I received my very first Grand Prize in 2005, and now my 21st in 2025. I don’t know if it’ll be possible, but I’ll try my best to go all the way to 30.
As for everything bad that happened in 2025, let’s say a ‘good goodbye’ to it this year, just like in Hwasa’s song, and welcome 2026 carrying only good memories.
To our viewers, thank you always, and I wish you a very happy New Year. We can’t be happy all the time, but I hope you have a year where you can always smile and stay safe and healthy. Next year, we’ll keep running hard with Hangout With Yoo, so please look forward to it. Thank you very much.”
— Yoo Jae Suk
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Source: Chosun Ilbo and theqoo