South Korean baritone Kim Tae-han has won the Queen Elisabeth Competition for voice, becoming the first Asian male singer to win the coveted classical music contest held in Belgium.

Kim was named the first prize winner during an awards ceremony held in Brussels on Saturday, which was broadcast live online.

He is the third South Korean singer to clinch the top prize following sopranos Hong Hae-ran in 2011 and Hwang Sumi in 2014.

Established in 1937, the competition named after the late Belgian queen is one of the three most prestigious contests for classical musicians, along with the International Chopin Piano Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition. The voice section was added in 1988.

Violinists, pianists, singers and cellists compete in a four-year cycle, and this year was the voice competition. (Yonhap)