BTS’s Jimin Maintains 207-Week Straight No. 1 Ranking with Brand Reputation Surging to 80.99%

The group BTS has solidified its dominant position in the idol market. Jimin secured his 207th consecutive week at the top in the recent StarRanking StarIdol Male Ranking vote, earning 56,180 votes. Lee Jun-ho came in second with 28,819 votes, followed by BTS’s Jin with 11,260 votes, as BTS dominated the upper rankings. BTS also delivered outstanding results in brand reputation in October. According to big data analysis by the Korea Corporate Reputation Institute, BTS ranked first among all idol group brands, with its brand reputation index rising from 4,275,545 in September to 7,738,515—a 80.99% increase. The brand reputation analysis showed participation scores of 173,950, media scores of 664,931, communication scores of 2,199,865, and community scores of 4,699,769. Ku Chang-hwan, director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Institute, commented, “In link analysis, BTS’s brand showed high rankings for ‘donating,’ ‘celebrating,’ and ‘collaborating,’ while keyword analysis highlighted terms like ‘spring days,’ ‘ARMY,’ and ‘fan concerts,’ resulting in a positive ratio of 92.24%.” The top five idol group brands in October were BTS, followed by IVE in second place, SEVENTEEN in third, BLACKPINK in fourth, and Red Velvet in fifth. Overall big data related to idol group brands increased from 75,966,777 in September to 85,971,791 in October, a 13.17% rise. Specifically, brand consumption increased by 8.06%, while brand diffusion rose by 32.61%. BTS’s Jin also achieved notable individual accomplishments. He recently became the first Korean singer to perform at London’s O2 Arena in the UK, drew the largest audience ever for a Korean singer at Honda Center in Anaheim, USA, and became the first Korean solo artist to sell out the entire capacity at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Jin is set to hold an encore fan concert at Incheon Munhak Stadium in Mijuhol-gu, Incheon, from October 31 to November 1. BTS’s success is also linked to Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, whose leadership skills have been recognized. He is currently the only billionaire in the K-pop industry. As of the end of September, he holds 31.6% of HYBE’s shares, which are valued at 35 trillion won (approximately $2.5 billion). According to CEO Score tracking data, Bang Si-hyuk’s share value accounted for 15.6% of the top 100 values of newly listed company stocks by founders over the past five years. The combined stock value of the top 100 founder-owners of companies listed since 2020 totaled approximately 225 trillion won. Forbes revised Bang Si-hyuk’s net worth from $2.5 billion in April to $2.4 billion as of October 15, while the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $2.3 billion as of July 2025. Bang Si-hyuk ranked 16th on Forbes 2025’s list of “Korea’s 50 Richest People” and currently holds the 1,610th position among the world’s richest individuals.