Kim Soo Hyun is South Korea's Highest Paid Endorser

By Staff Reporter / Jan 10, 2015 08:36 AM EST
(Photo : Baidu.com) Kim Soo Hyun

South Korean singers, according to a recent report, earned an average income of about US$43 thousand in 2014 which is US$9.1 thousand more than the US$22.5 thousand annual average income of office workers. Many netizens do not believe the data nor care about the A-list stars' income.

Super Junior is allegedly in the first place of Boy groups' income bracket, while Kim Soo Hyun is the star, who is said to be, with the highest endorsement fee in South Korea.

According to South Korea Forbes 2014, Super Junior's sixth album, Sexy, Free and Single, sold 570,000 copies and they also won Best Artist Group Award at the 19th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards. There was no mention however, of Super Junior's US$28 million alleged income for the first half of 2014, on the Forbes Korea's top 10 Celebs.

With regards to the YG's Big Bang, said to have earned US$26.3 million. The  Mini-album Alive and special edition Still Alive have both  hit No. 1 in various musical charts. Also won Album of the Year at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards and sold 652,120 album copies, last year.

On the list, EXO beats seniors including SHINee and TVXQ and stays No. 6, which proves that EXO wins ultra-high popularity.

Netizens who care about the A-list South Korean actors' and actresses' income disclosed, the updated 2014 advertisement endorsement fee list of South Korean stars.

Kim Soo Hyun is the NO.1 on the list, earns around US$910 thousand per advertisement in South Korea and usually receives about US$1.36 million to US$1.82 million per commercial activity outside of South Korea. He is the star with the highest endorsement fee in South Korea.

Lee MinHo attracts fans with his TV dramas, City Hunter and Boys Over Flowers. The Heirs Lee played, let him have higher personal value. Lee's advertisement endorsement fee is also similar to Kim, above US$900 thousand per advertisement.

Other South Korean stars such as Lee Young Ae, Rain, Jang Dong-gun, Ko So Young also have very high personal value. But Fans are surprised to see that Gianna Jun's endorsement fee is only  US$644.55 thousand.

In the South Korea's web portals' search rankings, Kim and Lee are at the top, proving that they are still very popular. It is the same in China. Kim's and Lee's images frequently appear in China's TV advertisements. Lee received US$805 thousand, for joining a 15-minute E-commerce activity in China. Kim earned US$483 thousand for attending a 6-hour variety show Super Brain in China.