BTS Tops Rankings, Yoo Jae-suk Second

According to the big data analysis results for the April 2026 Star Brand Reputation, BTS ranked first, followed by Yoo Jae-suk in second and Lim Young-woong in third. The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed 262,120,141 pieces of star brand big data collected from March 29 to April 29, 2026, measuring participation index, media index, communication index, and community index. This represents a 4.74% decrease from the 275,169,232 pieces of big data from March. The brand reputation index is based on the impact of consumers' online habits on brand consumption, measuring the relationship with star brands, positive/negative evaluations, media attention, and consumer interest and communication volume. The analysis subjects included entertainers, singers, trot singers, drama actors, movie actors, boy groups, girl groups, and athletes, with a recommendation index included as a weighting factor.

The top 30 in the April 2026 Star Brand Reputation included BTS, Yoo Jae-suk, Lim Young-woong, Byeon Woo-seok, Park Ji-hoon, IVE, Son Heung-min, Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Hye-yoon, and SEVENTEEN. BTS, which ranked first, recorded a participation index of 322,704, a media index of 2,500,266, a communication index of 3,713,825, and a community index of 5,010,638, achieving a total brand reputation index of 11,547,433. This is a 57.80% decrease compared to March. Yoo Jae-suk, in second place, recorded a total brand reputation index of 7,325,244 with a participation index of 211,802, a media index of 1,760,471, a communication index of 2,689,820, and a community index of 2,663,151, a 1.92% decrease from March. Lim Young-woong, in third place, recorded a total brand reputation index of 6,675,381 with a participation index of 491,556, a media index of 1,203,479, a communication index of 2,834,082, and a community index of 2,146,264, a 20.18% decrease from March. Byeon Woo-seok, in fourth place, recorded 5,316,985, a 252.87% increase, and Park Ji-hoon, in fifth place, recorded 5,105,720, a 63.64% decrease.

Goo Chang-hwan, the director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, analyzed that BTS secured the top spot by concentrating global fandom on their full group comeback concert. Yoo Jae-suk rose to second place due to a surge in viewer interest from his activities on variety shows, and Lim Young-woong ranked third as his fandom joined him in various collaborations and modeling activities. Byeon Woo-seok ranked fourth with a surge in media attention from a new drama, and Park Ji-hoon ranked fifth due to rising expectations from the "discontinuation syndrome." Director Goo also added that the star brand big data for April 2026 decreased by 4.74% compared to March, with brand consumption decreasing by 23.49%, brand issues increasing by 0.46%, brand communication decreasing by 1.08%, and brand diffusion decreasing by 6.96%.

According to the big data analysis results for the April 2026 Advertising Model Brand Reputation, BTS ranked first, IVE second, and Lim Young-woong third. The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed 46,480,909 pieces of advertising model brand big data measured from March 9 to April 9, 2026. This represents a 13.49% increase from the 40,956,804 pieces of big data in March. The analysis includes participation index, media index, communication index, and community index, with weighting for advertising channels included in the detailed indicators.

The top 30 in the April 2026 Advertising Model Brand Reputation included BTS, IVE, Lim Young-woong, Park Ji-hoon, Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Hae-jin, Lee Su-ji, and BLACKPINK. BTS, ranked first, recorded a total brand reputation index of 7,462,249 with a participation index of 467,795, a media index of 1,387,224, a communication index of 2,246,593, and a community index of 3,360,637, a 159.43% increase compared to March. IVE, ranked second, saw an 80.53% increase with 3,063,321, and Lim Young-woong, ranked third, saw a 51.17% increase with 2,896,428. Park Ji-hoon, ranked fourth, saw an 88.46% increase with 1,896,965, and Yoo Jae-suk, ranked fifth, saw a 50.27% increase with 1,553,747.