This Actor Beats Lee Byung-hun, Song Hye-kyo, and Ha Jung-woo for No. 1 in Brand Rankings!

One Actor Surpasses A-List Stars to Claim No. 1 in February’s Film Actor Brand Reputation Rankings!

Kwon Sang-woo has clinched the No. 1 spot in the February film actor brand reputation rankings, surpassing a lineup of top-tier stars.

On February 18, the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute announced its latest rankings, with Kwon securing first place. Jung Hae-in followed in second, while Lee Byung-hun landed in third. Other notable names in the top tier included Lee Yi-kyung, Lee Jung-jae, Gong Yoo, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Lee Jin-wook, Ha Jung-woo, and Jeon Yeo-been.

The brand reputation index is determined by analyzing consumer behavior, measuring participation, communication, media exposure, community engagement, and social influence. For film actors, this index evaluates public perception based on participation, media presence, communication, and community interactions.

In this month’s ranking, Kwon Sang-woo demonstrated strong brand power, emerging as the most influential name. Key keywords linked to him included "natural," "witty," and "breakthrough," while high-association search terms included 'Hitman 2', Jung Joon-ho, and Son Tae-young. Notably, his positivity rating reached 87.48%, indicating a highly favorable public perception.

The top 30 actors in the February rankings include Kwon Sang-woo, Jung Hae-in, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Yi-kyung, Lee Jung-jae, Gong Yoo, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Lee Jin-wook, Ha Jung-woo, Jeon Yeo-been, Hyun Bin, Im Si-wan, Son Suk-ku, Song Hye-kyo, Don Lee(Ma Dong-seok), Kim Hye-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Gong Hyo-jin, Lee Dong-wook, Jung Joon-ho, Song Ji-hyo, Park Bo-young, Kim Nam-gil, Lee Jun-hyuk, Kang Dong-won, Lee Kwang-soo, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Ji-young, Kim Woo-bin, and Song Seung-heon.

Koo Chang-hwan, head of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, commented, “Compared to the previous month, brand consumption increased by 0.18%, brand-related issues by 2.56%, brand communication by 4.67%, and brand diffusion by 1.66%.”

This ranking was based on an analysis of 100 film actors, incorporating data from news articles, VON (Voice of Netizens), video content (including short-form clips), and social media interactions. The analysis underwent a filtering process to exclude irrelevant or manipulated data, ensuring an accuracy rate of over 97%.

Kwon’s rising brand reputation has been largely influenced by the success of his latest film, Hitman 2. The film has continued to draw audiences, surpassing 2,406,305 cumulative admissions as of February 14 at 7:50 p.m. KST, according to the Korean Film Council’s box office system. This figure exceeds the final tally of the first installment (Hitman, which ended at 2,406,232 viewers). Notably, Hitman 2 achieved this milestone two days faster than its predecessor, further cementing its success.

Hitman 2 is a comedic action film that follows Jun, a once-famous webtoon artist who has now become a creative failure. His ambitious new work accidentally sparks a real-life terror attack, making him the prime suspect. Kwon Sang-woo delivers a mix of his signature comedic timing and action prowess, further amplifying audience engagement.