Kim Soo-hyun tops Superstar Brand Power with 2.2 million votes amid public backlash in Kim Sae-ron controversy
South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun topped the Top Star News Superstar Brand Power Voting amid public outrage for the Kim Sae-ron dating scandal. Top Star News, a South Korean media outlet, announced the results of the 69th Superstar Brand Power Ranking in the male and female categories on the afternoon of April 30, 2025.
The voting period was held between April 23 and April 30, till 2 pm KST. As per the report, a total of 5,519,310 votes were recorded and the actor received 2,242,170 votes out of it. Kim Soo-hyun surpassed actors like Kim Hee-jae and Byeon Woo-seok for the 69th Ranking. Furthermore, Kim Hye-yoon dominated the female category in the ranking.
Currently, Kim Soo-hyun has been facing public scrutiny due to his past relationship with late South Korean actress and former labelmate Kim Sae-ron. The Dream High actor has been accused of dating Kim Sae-ron when she was not of legal adult age. However, he continued to receive support from many of his fans showing his brand power influence.
Kim Soo-hyun tops 17th Big Data Actor Brand Value rankings amid Kim Sae-ron controversy and losing endorsement deals
Kim Soo-hyun is known for his K-dramas such as My Love From the Stars, It's Okay to Not be Okay, and more. He has been receiving criticism from netizens due to his dating controversy involving Kim Sae-ron, who passed away on February 16, 2025 (age 24 years). Despite the ongoing backlash, Kim Soo-hyun took over the top spot on the 17th Big Data Actor Brand Value ranking list.
The Queen of Tears actor also secured his place in the top 3 of the Star News’ 110th Star Ranking in the male actor category. The voting determined the rankings for the fourth week of April 2025, which took place from April 21 to May 1, 2025.
He achieved 11.5K votes, grabbing the third spot on the list following the Twenty star Lee Jun-ho (1st ranking, 43K votes) and the Lovely Runner fame Byeon Woo-seok (2nd ranking, 24.2K votes). In the last ranking list, the actor was spotted on the seventh place.
In other news, the Real actor lost brand deals with Prada, Homeplus, Shinhan Bank, and many more as a consequence of dating allegations. On May 2, YTN Star reported that a brand referred to as Company D reportedly filed a litigation at the Seoul Central District Court on April 25, 2025, against the actor. Company D is seeking 2.8 billion KRW in compensation for the damages they suffered.
Company D also reportedly had a brand modeling contract with the actor; however, due to the growing negativity towards his image, they could not continue with the contract and ended it.
On the other hand, two other brands referred to as Company A and B have already filed lawsuits against the actor and his management GOLD MEDALIST. Furthermore, Company C reportedly showed the possibilities of making a legal complaint against Kim Soo-hyun.
Notably, identities of the brands have not been revealed yet.
