Forbes Korea's Top 'Power Celebrity 40' List 2013
MANILA, Philippines - Forbes Korea has released its annual top "Power Celebrity 40" list, which ranks the most popular and influential celebrities.
The list is based on income, influence, reputation and expertise that include number of endorsements, most searched names on search engines in South Korea, magazine cover appearances, donations to charity and mentions in media.
Korean rapper Psy topped this year's list, thanks to his phenomenal hit "Gangnam Style." Psy did not rank last year.
Psy ranked first in income and the number of media articles that mentioned his name. He is No. 12 in broadcast and No. 3 in expertise.
Girls' Generation, which topped the list in 2011 and 2012, ranked second this year. The girls ranked fourth in income, No. 3 in media articles, No. 2 in broadcast and No. 10 in expertise. Girls' Generation had 32 TV commercials last year, the most number by any celebrity on the list.
Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon Jae is a new entry on the Forbes Korea list. She became popular after she reached the all-around finals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the first Korean to do so.
Actor Kim Soo Hyun shot to fourth place from 39th last year. He gained fame when he starred in last year's hit Korean drama "The Moon That Embraces The Sun." With this, he bagged product endorsement deals.
Boy band Big Bang ranked fifth from second last year.
Swimmer Park Tae Hwan rose to sixth place from 10th last year, thanks to his performance in the 2012 Olympics where he won two silver medals.
Actor Song Joong Ki ranked seventh from 27th last year while singer IU ranked eight from third last year.
Figure skating champion Kim Yun dropped to ninth place from fifth last year. She topped the list in 2008 and 2009.
Boy band Super Junior rose to tenth place from 16th in 2012 while actor Lee Seung Gi dropped to 11th from sixth last year.
Actor Yoo Joon Sang placed 12th and is a new entry this year. He gained fame through the 2012 drama "My Husband Got A Family."
The celebrities in the 13th to 20th places are KARA (from fourth last year), baseball player Lee Dae Ho (22nd last year), 2PM (11th last year), Ki Sung Ryong, miss A, Joo Won, Park Ji Sung and Infinite.
Here's Forbes Korea's Power Celebrity 40 list for 2013:
1. Psy2. Girls' Generation
3. Son Yeon Jae
4. Kim Soo Hyun
5. Big Bang
6. Park Tae Hwan
7. Song Joong Ki
8. IU
9. Kim Yuna
10. Super Junior
11. Lee Seung Gi
12. Yoo Joon Sang
13. KARA
14. Lee Dae Ho
15. 2PM
16. Ki Sung Ryong
17. miss A
18. Joo Won
19. Park Ji Sung
20. INFINITE
21. CNBLUE
22. T-ara
23. TVXQ
24. Kim Tae Hee
25. JYJ
26. SISTAR
27. Shin Bora
28. Oh Yeon Seo
29. BEAST
30. Yoo Jae Suk
31. Han Hyo Joo
32. Kim Nam Joo
33. Kim Joon Hyun
34. Ryu Seung Ryong
35. Yang Hak Sun
36. Kim Byung Man
37. Lee Min Jung
38. Um Tae Woong
39. Lee Kwang Soo
40. Ha Ji Won