On December 4, cultural content platform Yes24 announced that President Lee Jaemyung's book "In the End, the People Do It" was selected as the top pick in the "2025 Book of the Year" vote, receiving 1,195,788 votes.

This year's vote surpassed 1 million participants for the first time since the "Book of the Year" vote began in 2003, reaching a total of 1,195,900 votes. This marks a record high, with 300,000 more votes than last year. The number of participating readers increased by over 30,000 compared to last year, and there was a particularly significant increase of more than 10,000 participants among those in their teens and twenties.

In this vote, which was held over about four weeks from November 3 to 28 and featured 300 titles recommended by Yes24 PDs, President Lee Jaemyung's "In the End, the People Do It" received 15,788 votes (3.4%), making it the most-voted book. The book outlines the life and political philosophy of Lee Jaemyung, who was inaugurated as the 21st president, and contains his thoughts on the Korea he wishes to build together with the people.

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Following this, "If You Don't Act, Life Won't Change" ranked second with 13,995 votes (3.0%), "On Kindness" came in fourth with 13,764 votes (2.9%), and "The Happiness of Adults Is Quiet" placed fifth with 11,747 votes (2.5%). A total of 24 books were selected as Yes24's Books of the Year, including nine works of literature (novels and essays), reflecting continued reader interest in Korean literature.

In the literature category, "Honmono" by author Seong Haena received 13,764 votes (2.9%), ranking first in the category and third overall. "Honmono" garnered strong support from readers in their teens (6.3%) and twenties (4.6%).

By age group, "Honmono" was the top-voted book among readers in their teens and twenties, "In the End, the People Do It" led among those in their thirties and forties, and "The People Come First" was the favorite among those aged 50 and above. Readers in their teens and twenties showed a clear preference for novels, while those in their thirties and older favored social and political books.

Yes24 will hold a variety of "Book of the Year" events until the 28th to mark the announcement of the results. Readers who leave a comment on the event page about which of the 24 nominated books they would like to read will receive a 1,000-won eBook voucher on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 10,000 people, and some nominated books will be available for purchase on Crema Club for 5,500 won.

Additionally, a participatory event for reading the "Book of the Year" together has been prepared. On the 18th, the 2025 Book of the Year reading and transcription live event "Read with us" will be held on Yes24's YouTube channel. The reading community Sarak will also host book clubs and the "Book of the Year Challenge" program, featuring authors and publishers of the selected books.

The Yes24 "Book of the Year" vote is an annual campaign that has continued for 23 years since it began with Bernard Werber's "The Tree" in 2003. More details on the results of the 2025 Book of the Year vote can be found on the Yes24 website.