"Goblin" and "Train to Busan" star Gong Yoo has topped the brand reputation index for male advertising models in Korea in June. Based on the analysis of 11.46 million pieces of big data from May 22 to June 23, the Korea Institute for Corporate Reputation ranked the top 50 male advertising models.
Gong Yoo ranked first with a score of 2.66 million based on brand participation, media, communication, community and audience values.
The 37-year-old star is enjoying fame, thanks to the "Goblin" TV drama, which became a rating hit and attained the second-highest TV rating for a drama on Korean cable.
Before this, Gong Yoo's popularity soared through the hit movie "Train to Busan," which ended up as the No. 1 top grossing film in Korea in 2016 with 11.56 million tickets sold and nearly $82 million gross at the box office.
"Gong Yoo's brand reputation is more focused on the contents than the categories, so his brand reputation is high not only for the advertisement model rankings but also for the movie actor and drama actor rankings. Consumers are consuming Gong Yoo's brand contents in diverse ways," said institute head Goo Chang Wan, according to Soompi.
"Descendants of the Sun" star Song Joong-ki was a far second with a score of 811,077. He will star in the movie "The Battleship Island" slated for release in July.
Reality TV show "Mom's Diary-My Ugly Duckling" star Lee Sang-min finished third with 773,113.
The fourth to 20th places went to:
4. Jo In Sung - 770,151
5. Park Bo Gum - 560,200
6. Kim Soo Hyun - 470,731
7. Yoo Jae Suk - 327,203
8. Jung Woo Sung - 293,151
9. Yoo Seung Ho - 288,770
10. Lee Min Ho - 229,471
11. Shinhwa's Eric - 212,951
12. Kwon Hyuk Soo - 202,835
13. Park Hae Jin - 199,932
14. Baek Jong Won - 178,644
15. Yoo Hae Jin - 174,971
16. ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo - 171,426
17. Kim Min Jae - 168,278
18. Yeo Jin Goo - 162,610
19. Jo Jung Suk - 157,461
20. Shin Dong Yup - 150,984
