The “Individual Boy Group Member Brand Reputation Ranking” is a monthly ranking conducted by the кσяєαn Business Research Institute that measures the popularity and influence of individual male idols in K-pop boy groups.
Ranking highly on the “brand reputation ranking” is not considered an official award, but it carries significant media and commercial value, as it reflects which idols are generating the most buzz, receiving the most public attention, and exerting the strongest media influence in South кσяєα during the analyzed period. In short, it shows which idols the public is paying the most attention to that month. For this reason, the ranking has long been regarded as important within the K-pop fandom community.
On the 16th, the кσяєαn Business Research Institute released its latest ranking for May 2026. The institute analyzed brand reputation indexes based on consumer behavior data extracted from big data collected from 755 boy group members between April 16, 2026 and May 16, 2026.
Accordingly, Jimin claimed the No.1 spot with a total brand reputation index of 6,447,417. His participation index reached 235,140, media index 532,488, interaction index 2,688,731, and community index 2,991,057.
Koo Chang-hwan, Director of the кσяєαn Business Research Institute, stated: “In the link analysis of Jimin’s brand, terms such as ‘perfect,’ ‘pαѕѕionate,’ and ‘breakthrough’ appeared with high frequency. In keyword analysis, words such as ‘ARMY,’ ‘World Tour,’ and ‘мєχι¢σ’ recorded high rankings. In addition, the positive-negative ratio analysis showed a remarkably high positive response rate of 92.97%.”
Immediately after the ranking was announced, Jimin dominated South кσяєα’s real-time X trends by occupying the entire Top 3 trending topics with the hashtags #CongratulationsJiminBrandReputationMayNo1, #OurJiminWonFirstPlaceAgain and #JIMIN58MonthsNo1BrandReputation, demonstrating his immense social media power and influence.
Meanwhile, Park Ji-hoon (Wanna One) ranked No.2 with a total brand reputation index of 5,510,360. Previously, Park Ji-hoon had topped the ranking in March and April 2026 thanks to the mαѕѕive success of his historical drama “The King’s Warden,” which ended Jimin’s long-running streak at No.1 following his return from military service in June last year. Nevertheless, with this latest achievement, Jimin continues to extend his record as the FIRST & ONLY idol to top this ranking for 35 consecutive months and 58 months overall.
The remaining BTS members also secured spots within the Top 10. Jungkook ranked No.3 with a total brand reputation index of 5,494,822. Jin took 4th place, while V ranked 5th. Meanwhile, BTS’s rap line members RM, j-hope, and SUGA placed 7th, 9th, and 10th respectively. With the May 2026 results, BTS once again proved their dominant position in the K-pop industry, not only through group activities but also through their overwhelming individual brand power.
Just two days earlier, BTS had been selected by FIFA World Cup as one of the three main performers for the first-ever halftime show in the tournament’s history during the 2026 World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium this coming July, sparking a global social media frenzy. The group is also currently meeting fans through their ARIRANG World Tour, which is now in its αмєяι¢αs leg. On this day, the K-pop superstars appeared to completely dominate online discussions among fans and netizens alike.
Fans could not hide their pride and excitement, expressing amazement as good news continued pouring in: "We are all obsessed. CONGRATULATIONS JIMIN! RECORD MAKER JIMIN", "Jimin reclaiming No.1 while BTS dominates the Top 10 again… legends only", "BTS continues to prove why they’re the biggest group in the world", "BTS really came back stronger than ever after military service", "Jimin’s consistency is insane. 58 months overall is history-making", "Jimin deserves every bit of this success, and BTS keeps raising the bar globally",...
