Actor Byeon Woo-seok, who is currently stealing hearts in “21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife,” has claimed the top spot in this month’s advertising model brand reputation, beating out heavyweights like singer Lim Young-woong and soccer star Son Heung-min.
On the 7th, the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute revealed that according to the big data analysis for May 2026, the rankings are 1st Byeon Woo-seok, 2nd Lim Young-woong, and 3rd Son Heung-min.
The top 30 for this ranking include Byeon Woo-seok, Lim Young-woong, Son Heung-min, Park Ji-hoon, BTS, IVE, BLACKPINK, Yoo Jae-suk, Kim Yuna, Lee Jung-hoo, Go Youn-jung, Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jung-jae, Ma Dong-seok, Gong Yoo, Lee Jun-ho, Lee Chan-won, Kim Do-young, Kiki, Park Bo-gum, Um Tae-gu, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Ye-eun, Hearts to Hearts, Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Go-eun, Jun Hyun-moo, Ryu Hyun-jin, Park Bo-young, and Park Jung-min.
Byeon Woo-seok, who took the top spot, recorded a participation index of 479,722, a media index of 534,241, a communication index of 1,386,782, and a community index of 1,361,396, resulting in a total brand reputation index of 3,762,141. This is a staggering 356.40% increase compared to his April index of 824,311.
Regarding this, Director Koo Chang-hwan of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute stated, “As a result of the May 2026 big data analysis for advertising model brand reputation, the Byeon Woo-seok brand recorded 1st place. Analyzing the category, the total big data for advertising models increased by 3.71% compared to the 46,480,909 data points in April. A detailed analysis shows brand consumption fell by 4.15%, brand issues fell by 9.88%, brand communication rose by 7.30%, and brand diffusion rose by 9.86%.”
He further explained, “For Byeon Woo-seok, keywords like ‘heart-fluttering,’ ‘confess,’ and ‘model’ scored high, while keyword analysis showed ‘Grand Prince Ian,’ ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife,’ and ‘Yoo Jae-suk Camp’ were prominent. The positive ratio for Byeon Woo-seok’s advertising brand was analyzed at 93.51%.”
Meanwhile, Lim Young-woong, who ranked 2nd, had a participation index of 159,390, a media index of 265,536, a communication index of 1,368,894, and a community index of 1,555,489, for a total brand reputation index of 3,349,309. This is a 15.64% increase from April’s 2,896,428.
Son Heung-min, in 3rd place, recorded a participation index of 174,082, a media index of 209,847, a communication index of 1,135,584, and a community index of 1,547,999, totaling 3,067,512. This is a 184.25% increase from April’s 1,079,167.
Park Ji-hoon, who ranked 4th, had a participation index of 231,458, a media index of 233,370, a communication index of 1,169,755, and a community index of 1,196,620, for a total index of 2,831,202. This is a 49.25% increase from April’s 1,896,965.
BTS (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook) ranked 5th with a participation index of 87,075, a media index of 212,322, a communication index of 1,115,334, and a community index of 1,277,137, totaling 2,691,868. This is a 63.93% decrease from April’s 7,462,249.
The May 2026 advertising model brand reputation survey was conducted through big data analysis of various brands, including Byeon Woo-seok, Lim Young-woong, Son Heung-min, Park Ji-hoon, BTS, IVE, BLACKPINK, Yoo Jae-suk, Kim Yuna, Lee Jung-hoo, Go Youn-jung, Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jung-jae, Ma Dong-seok, Gong Yoo, Lee Jun-ho, Lee Chan-won, Kim Do-young, Kiki, Park Bo-gum, Um Tae-gu, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Ye-eun, Hearts to Hearts, Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Go-eun, Jun Hyun-moo, Ryu Hyun-jin, Park Bo-young, Park Jung-min, TWICE, Jo Jung-suk, Sung Si-kyung, Moon Chae-won, Faker, Cha Seung-won, Psy, Kim Woo-jin, Lee Sang-min, Lee Hyori, Young Tak, Park Jin-young, aespa, Park Gun, Lee Byung-hun, Shin Dong-yup, Kim Jong-kook, Kim Dong-hyun, SEVENTEEN, RIIZE, Hwasa, Hyun Bin, Jang Yoon-jeong, BIBI, Han Ji-min, Ahn Jung-hwan, Lee Jun-hyuk, Yoo Hae-jin, NCT, TWS, Park Shin-hye, Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Seo-jin, Lee Seung-gi, Cha Joo-young, Jo In-sung, Kang Ho-dong, Kim Yoo-jung, Seo Jang-hoon, Kim Hye-soo, Choo Sung-hoon, Lee Jung-hyun, LE SSERAFIM, Shin Min-a, Lee Su-ji, Gang Dong-won, Red Velvet, Lee Young-ae, Son Ye-jin, Kim Tae-ri, Yoona, Park Seo-joon, Won Bin, Song Ga-in, ILLIT, Son Suk-ku, BABYMONSTER, Kim Won-hoon, Kim Woo-bin, Tang Wei, Kim Jong-min, Tak Jae-hoon, Park Eun-bin, Apink, Jung Hae-in, Kim Yeon-koung, Lee Dong-wook, Oh My Girl, Seo Kang-joon, and Hwang Jung-min.
The survey analyzed 48,203,029 big data points from the 7th of last month to today (the 7th), measuring the brand reputation index through participation, media, communication, and community indices based on consumer behavior analysis. This is a 3.71% increase compared to the 46,480,909 data points in April.
The brand reputation index is a metric created through big data analysis, based on the finding that consumers’ online habits significantly impact brand consumption. The analysis measures the relationship between consumers and the advertising model brand, positive and negative evaluations, media interest, and the volume of consumer interest and communication. This analysis focuses on brands in the top tier of brand reputation and uses a big data reputation algorithm to analyze the relationship between the brand and the consumer, with weights included for advertising channels.
