Ahn Se-yong, Koo Ja-wook and Kim Do-yong (from left). / News 1
Son Heung-min / Korea Football Association
Lee Kang-in / Korea Football AssociationIt was announced on the 2nd that Son Heung-min ranked first in the sports star of the year category in the ‘K-Brand Index’ published by the Asia Brand Research Institute, a large data evaluation agency.
The K-Brand Index evaluates representative brands in each sector in Korea and is a sum of indices such as trends, media, social, community, activation, positive and negative. The Sports Star of the Year category selected the top 30 players in the sport based on portal websites and reflected the results of analyzing 3,090,632,850 online big data from January 1 to November 30, 2024.
The first-place honor went to Son Heung-min, captain of the national soccer team. Son Heung-min is writing Asian football history playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League (EPL). He is loved by fans around the world for his outstanding performance and leadership as well as his consistent scoring record. As this selection shows, Son Heung-min has proven himself as a representative player for Korean football.
Second place went to Kim Do-young, a young prospect in the KBO league. He is a member of the KIA Tigers and is garnering attention for his explosive hitting ability and speedy base running. Kim Do-yong has achieved great results in the 2024 KBO League, leaving a strong impression on baseball fans.
The third place is Ja-wook Koo, the leading player of the Samsung Lions. Koo Jae-wook is a representative all-around player in baseball with stable defense and good hitting. In particular, his consistency allowed him to have a lot of confidence in the team.
Ahn Se-yong, ranked fourth, is a Korean badminton star. In the year In 2024, he won several international tournaments, ranked first in the world, and promoted Korean badminton to the world.
5th rank is Kim Woo-jin the archer. Kim Woo-jin is a Korean archery athlete with incredible athletic ability and steely mentality. Kim Woo-jin has established himself as a living legend in the world of archery by winning consecutive medals at world competitions.
6th place is Shin Yubin. He is a player who will lead the future of Korean table tennis. Shin Yu-bin gave great hope to table tennis fans by winning several medals at the Paris Olympics.
7th place is Lee Kang-in. Lee Kang In is another star who represents Korean football along with Son Heung Min. He plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the French Ligue 1 and is expanding his influence on the European football scene.
8th ranked Kim Eun-kyung is a legend in the Korean volleyball world. Kim Eun-Kyung is loved by fans for his excellent performance and leadership in domestic and international leagues.
Archer Im Si-hyun, who came in 9th place, made a name for himself by playing in international tournaments last year. As a next-generation Sagittarius star, it attracts attention.
10th place is Yang Hye-jin of volleyball. Yang Hyo Jin, a key player in Korean women’s volleyball, is contributing greatly to the team’s victory with her stable game management and blocking ability.
Ryu Won-sen, head of Asia Brand Research Institute’s research center, said, “The hot issues in domestic sports in 2024 can be summed up as ‘reform’ and ‘hope.’ The social struggle over the re-appointment of the president of the Korea Football Association and the president of the Korea Sports Council was intense, and the empty face of the domestic sports industry fueled by Ahn Se-yong gained attention as an imminent target for reform. “The biggest Olympic success in Paris in 12 years was a symbol of pride for the Republic of Korea, and the passion of Son Heung-min and Kim Do-yong established themselves as new icons of hope.”
“Sports stars of every sport who have brought great joy to the public this year deserve credit, but the bias towards some sports, including football and baseball, is still considered a long-term issue. A view of time,” he said.
The K-Brand Index is a large-scale data analysis system developed by the Asia Brand Research Institute in collaboration with domestic and foreign researchers, and is verified by an advisory committee from leadership sampling to index selection.