Woo Sang-ho ranks 3rd among provincial governors in brand index

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor Woo Sang-ho has scored higher on a brand index than the province's relative standing might suggest — Gangwon ranks 12th in population and 13th in gross regional domestic product among South Korea's provinces and metropolitan cities.

Among governors of non-metropolitan provinces, Woo placed third, behind only Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and South Chungcheong Province Governor Park Soo-hyun. His score surpassed those of the governors of South Gyeongsang Province (fourth in population), North Gyeongsang Province (seventh), North Jeolla Province (10th) and North Chungcheong Province (11th).

When metropolitan city mayors — who tend to receive heavier media and online coverage — are included, Woo placed 10th out of all 16 regional government heads.

The Asia Brand Research Institute, a big data evaluation body, said Wednesday it analyzed 36,884,982 online data points collected from Aug. 1 through Aug. 31 to compile the K-Brand Index scores for the heads of South Korea's 16 regional governments.

The overall top 10 in the K-Brand Index regional government head category were: Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (1st), Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae (2nd), Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae (3rd), Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo (4th), Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho (5th), Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk (6th), South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae (7th), South Chungcheong Province Governor Park Soo-hyun (8th), Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong (9th) and Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho (10th).

Rounding out the rankings were North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo (11th), South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su (12th), Sejong Mayor Jo Sang-ho (13th), North Jeolla Province Governor Lee Won-taek (14th), North Chungcheong Province Governor Shin Yong-han (15th) and Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon (16th).

Han Jeong-geun, head of the Asia Brand Research Institute, said regional government heads are evaluated on a complex mix of factors beyond simple policy outcomes. "They are assessed on their ability to respond to national issues and local challenges, the reach of their messaging, and their exposure across media and digital channels," he said. "Particularly because many of the issues they handle intersect with national agendas, how effectively they communicate their policy positions and actions has a significant bearing on public perception and brand value."

Han added that Seoul Mayor Oh had held onto the top spot, while Busan Mayor Jeon had slipped to fourth and Daejeon Mayor Heo had broken into the top 10 for the first time. "These shifts show that public attention to regional government heads is not determined solely by existing name recognition, but can vary depending on the issues of the moment and the reach of their messaging," he said. "The ability to respond to local concerns and communicate them effectively will be a key variable shaping competitiveness going forward."

The K-Brand Index regional government head rankings are based on online data only and do not reflect offline figures. Detailed index information and analysis are available on the institute's official website and Instagram.