‘Taxi Driver’ may be over, but Lee Je-hoon still tops Korea’s drama star buzz
Lee Je-hoon / Xportsnews
Even after his hit series “Taxi Driver” wrapped up, actor Lee Je-hoon remains Korea’s most talked-about drama star.
According to big-data brand rankings released in January 2026, Lee ranked number one in the drama actor brand reputation index, beating out Jang Ki-yong in second place and Park Seo-joon in third. The results measure how much attention, discussion and online engagement each actor generates across news outlets, social media and fan communities.
The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute said it analyzed more than 80,187,626 data points related to 100 actors who appeared in television dramas between Dec. 14, 2025 and Jan. 14, 2026. Compared with the previous month’s 95,133,320 data points, overall buzz around drama actors dropped by 15.71 percent — making Lee’s continued dominance even more notable.
Lee’s brand reputation score reached 4,384,492 points, driven by strong participation, media exposure, communication and community engagement. Jang Ki-yong followed with 3,214,411 points, while Park Seo-joon recorded 2,225,043.
The institute said that in Lee’s keyword analysis, phrases such as “Taxi Driver,” “Kim Do-gi,” and “series icon” ranked highest, reflecting how closely he remains associated with the action-revenge franchise that turned him into one of Korea’s most bankable TV stars. In sentiment analysis, his positive rating stood at 93.01 percent.
“Lee Je-hoon’s brand showed strong associations with words like ‘proven,’ ‘intense,’ and ‘perfect’ in big-data link analysis,” Koo Chang-hwan, head of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, said.
The January top 30 drama actor brand rankings included Lee Je-hoon, Jang Ki-yong, Park Seo-joon, Pyo Ye-jin, Jung Kyung-ho, Seo Hyun-jin, Kim Go-eun, Won Ji-an, Ji Chang-wook, Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Jun-ho, Do Kyung-soo, Han Hye-jin, Jang Ryul, Lee Jung-jae, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Se-jeong, Kim Hye-jun, Lee Il-hwa, Ji Sung, Moon Sang-min, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Mu-jun, Lim Ji-yeon, Nam Ji-hyun, Jung In-sun, Lee Kwang-soo, Yoon Kye-sang, Kang Tae-oh and Jung Il-woo.
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.