The highly anticipated Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 2024 rankings have arrived, revealing which stars hold the most influence in South Korea’s competitive entertainment industry.
Forbes Korea evaluates celebrities across five key categories, income, media presence, social media influence, broadcast exposure, and fan engagement, to determine their overall impact. Top Korean stars like IU, Byeon Woo Seok, aespa, Son Heung Min, Cha Eunwoo, BTS Jin, Park Bo Gum, and more dominated the Forbes Korea 2024 Power Celebrity Rankings.
Top Earners of 2024 (Income)
- IU
- aespa
- Son Heung Min
- Faker
- Lee Jung Hoo
- Lee Kang In
- Gong Yoo
- Lee Byung Hun
- Park Bo Gum
- Jun Hyun Moo
IU topped Forbes Korea’s highest-earning celebrities list with a record 32 billion won income (approximately $22 million) between 2024 and 2025.
According to Forbes Korea, the bulk of her earnings came from her massively successful world tour, which included 31 sold-out concerts across 18 cities in 12 countries from March to September last year. The tour “HEREH” alone attracted over 500,000 attendees.
In addition to concert revenue, IU’s income was bolstered by 12 ongoing commercial endorsements, her appearance fee for the Netflix drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines”, and steady music earnings from hits like “Love Wins All”, “Holssi”, and “Shopper”.
Close behind, aespa ranked second with 23 billion won (approximately 16 million USD), thanks to their successful global tour “SYNK: Parallel Line”, advertising deals with 11 brands, and music revenue from hits like “Supernova”, “Armageddon”, “Whiplash”, and more.
Son Heung Min took third place with 21 billion won (approximately 14.5 million USD). The Soccer star’s earnings came primarily from his 18 billion won Tottenham Hotspur salary, with additional income from three high-profile advertisements.
Esports legend Faker secured fourth with 14.7 billion won (around 10 million USD), earned through tournament wins and sponsorships.
MLB’s Lee Jung Hoo rounded out the top five with 14.2 billion won (approximately 9.8 million USD), earned through salary and five endorsements. Notably, his 2025 salary will jump to 17.25 million USD (≈24.5 billion won) with the San Francisco Giants.
Most Covered Stars (Media)
- Son Heung Min
- Jisoo from BLACKPINK
- Yoo Jae Suk
- aespa
- Jun Hyun Moo
- IVE
- Lee Kang In
- Kim Do Young
- SEVENTEEN
- Hang Kang
Son Heung Min maintained his position as South Korea’s most-covered celebrity. Tottenham Hotspur’s captain continued to dominate media coverage with 410,000 mentions. He dominated headlines for his match-winning performances and scoring crucial goals in important matches.
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo ranked second with 210,000 mentions. She stayed in the news for her Paris Fashion Week appearance as Dior’s global ambassador. In addition, her return to acting with the movie “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” and the series “Newtopia” also earned her praise.
Veteran entertainer Yoo Jae Suk claimed third place (160,000 mentions) with popular variety shows, particularly with ‘Infinite Challenge Reboot’ and ‘You Quiz on the Block’.
K-pop group aespa followed in fourth place as they earned significant coverage with their first full-length album ‘Armageddon’ and international achievements.
TV personality Jun Hyun Moo rounded out the top five, with media focusing on his ‘I Live Alone’ appearances and personal life.
Most Mentioned Korean Celebrities (Social Media)
- Lim Young Woong
- SEVENTEEN
- Lee Chan Won
- IVE
- Son Heung Min
- IU
- Jennie from BLACKPINK
- Byeon Woo Seok
- Cha Eunwoo
- Young Tak
Trot sensation Lim Young Woong claimed the social media crown with an impressive 1.45 million mentions across Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube. It was nearly five times more than second-place SEVENTEEN (270,000 mentions). Fans passionately shared content about his new music releases and concert moments.
On the other hand, SEVENTEEN leveraged platforms to promote new music and tour content.
Lee Chan-won claimed 3rd place and connected with fans through casual behind-the-scenes posts
IVE (4th place) captivated audiences with stylish concept photos and music video teasers.
Top Broadcasters (Broadcast)
- Jun Hyun Moo
- Lee Chan Won
- Byeon Woo Seok
- BIBI
- Kim Ji Won
- Go Min Si
- Lim Young Woong
- Yoo Jae Suk
- Jang Minho
- Lee Je Hoon
With a broadcasting activity score of 69.1 points, Jun Hyun Moo ranked first, appearing in 26 broadcasts, including “Jun Hyun Moo’s Plan>” which received a high viewership rating of over 5%.
Lee Chan Won took second place with 39.9 points, appearing in 11 programs and receiving high ratings as a host.
Top Celebrities in Fandom Vote (Fandom Voting)
- Kim Hye Yoon
- Park Seo Jin
- Byeon Woo Seok
- Lim Young Woong
- Cha Eunwoo
- Jin from BTS
- Jang Minho
- Young Tak
- Lee Chan Won
- SEVENTEEN
In the fandom vote introduced by Power Celeb for the first time this year (conducted through the Celeb Champ and Idol Champ apps), actress Kim Hye Yoon took first place with the most votes (34,960 votes). Kim Hye Yoon gained great popularity for her role as the female lead Im Sol in the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama “Lovely Runner”. Her co-star, actor Byeon Woo Seok, also came in third place (6,681 votes) in the vote. Park Seo Jin, who has a strong fandom, took second place with 24,651 votes.
