Donghae ranks 4th among Gangwon cities, but its mayor places 16th in brand index

Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han topped the Gangwon Province local government chiefs category of the K-Brand Index, the Asia Brand Research Institute announced Thursday.

The K-Brand Index is an online big data analysis system developed by the Asia Brand Research Institute in collaboration with domestic and international researchers. It measures public perception and response by aggregating digital data generated in daily life — including search activity, content consumption, and positive and negative online interactions.

This month's Gangwon Province category covered all 18 heads of basic local governments in Gangwon Province, analyzing about 1.14 million online big data entries recorded from Aug. 1 through Aug. 31.

Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han ranked first, followed by Wonju Mayor Gu Ja-yeol in second and Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam in third. Taebaek Mayor Lee Sang-ho placed fourth, Hwacheon-gun County Chief Kim Se-hun fifth, Cheorwon-gun County Chief Kim Dong-il sixth, Hongcheon-gun County Chief Shin Young-jae seventh, Sokcho Mayor Lee Byeong-seon eighth, Pyeongchang-gun County Chief Shim Jae-guk ninth and Samcheok Mayor Park Sang-su tenth.

Rounding out the rankings, Yanggu-gun County Chief Kim Wang-gyu placed 11th, Goseong-gun County Chief Ham Myeong-jun 12th, Hoengseong-gun County Chief Jang Shin-sang 13th, Yeongwol-gun County Chief Kim Gil-su 14th, Jeongseon-gun County Chief Choi Seung-jun 15th, Donghae Mayor Lee Jeong-hak 16th, Inje-gun County Chief Choi Sang-gi 17th and Yangyang-gun County Chief Kim Jeong-jung 18th.

Compared with July, the August rankings saw notable declines: Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam fell from first to third, Sokcho Mayor Lee Byeong-seon dropped from second to eighth, and Donghae Mayor Lee Jeong-hak slid from eighth to 16th.

Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han climbed from third to first, Wonju Mayor Gu Ja-yeol rose from fourth to second, and Taebaek Mayor Lee Sang-ho advanced from fifth to fourth. Hwacheon-gun County Chief Kim Se-hun rose sharply to fifth place. Pyeongchang-gun County Chief Shim Jae-guk and Samcheok Mayor Park Sang-su held their positions from last month.

The institute said the pronounced shifts at both ends of the rankings "appear to reflect the influence of regional issues and the public activities of local leaders during the period on online mentions and public perception."