South Korean cellist Choi Ha-young has won Belgium's Queen Elisabeth Competition, one of the world's three most prestigious classical music contests.

The 24-year-old cellist was named the first prize winner in the cello division at the award ceremony in Brussels, after performing in the finals on Saturday.

A total of 12 contestants, including four South Koreans, competed in the finals, which were held from last Monday.

Choi has become the first South Korean to win in the cello division of the competition, which was created in 2017.

The Queen Elizabeth Competition is an international music competition for classical violinists, pianists, singers and cellists. It is considered one of the world's top three music competitions along with the Chopin Piano Competition in Poland and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.