KUALA LUMPUR: It seems that Jennie of popular K-Pop group BlackPink has the most influential presence in the realm of branding as compared to other ladies of K-Pop.
According to Koreaboo, the Korean Business Research Institute had revealed its monthly brand reputation ranking for individual girl group members yesterday.
The Top 30 list had Jennie holding her position from last month in the No. 1 spot, with fellow BlackPink member Jisoo at 6th place.
Every month, the institute analyses a series of metrics, that include media coverage and community awareness of more than 450 female group members, in order to determine the most popular personality in South Korea.
Surprisingly, the Top 10 segment featured four out of five members from relatively new group Itzy.
They were Yuna, Yeji, Lia and Ryujin at the No. 2, 4, 5 and 10 spots respectively. Remaining member Chaeryeong came in at 20th place.
The group from JYP Entertainment made its debut last month and its first single, Dalla Dalla, has been heating up the charts.
The list also saw Mamamoo’s Hwasa at No. 3 and Red Velvet’s Irene at No. 7. Yuna of Girls’ Generarion came in at No. 8, while Sowon of Gfriend took the No. 9 spot, to complete the Top 10 segment.
On a darker note, Koreaboo also reported today that shareholders and civic groups are threatening to sue YG Entertainment’s CEO, Yang Hyun Suk, for his links to the current Seungri sex scandal that has blown up in the news worldwide.
The 49-year-old CEO founded YG in 1996 and is one of the biggest K-Pop companies in South Korea.
It manages a slew of A-list acts such as BlackPink, BigBang, iKon and Winner, to name a few.
The company apparently took a hit with its stocks nosediving in value by more than 25 per cent after the scandal involving Seungri, who was a member of BigBang, came to light.
International conglomerates such as LVMH were alleged to have pulled their investments from YG as well, following the unfortunate scandal.
It was reported that YG had lost over 55 billion Won (close to RM200 million) in investments.
Livid stockholders are now demanding compensation from YG and Yang Hyun Suk for the substantial losses incurred and contemplating on taking legal action.
Apparently, a civic group known as Measures for People’s Livelihoods had also filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office against Yang Hyun Suk for negligence involving the scandal.
A statement released by a representative of the group read: “A public figure who exerts great influence in society shouldn’t be protected when they lack ethics and morality. Companies have been consistent in denying involvement in the event of inappropriate remarks and deviant acts made by celebrities. We need to make it clear that the company is also responsible.”