Courtesy of Son Heung-min's instagram

Son Heung-min, the captain of South Korea's men's national soccer team and a player for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, has been named the most beloved athlete in South Korea, according to a recent poll by Gallup Korea. The survey, which included 1,777 respondents aged 13 and above and was conducted in March and April, revealed Son received 49 percent of the votes, significantly ahead of other athletes.

The poll also highlighted that Lee Kang-in, a soccer player for Paris Saint-Germain, was the second most popular sports figure with 7 percent of the votes. Hanwha Eagles pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin followed closely with 6 percent, while figure skating Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na received 5 percent.

In the political realm, the late former President Roh Moo-hyun was ranked as the most popular president, securing 31 percent of the votes. He was followed by former Presidents Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung, who received 24 percent and 15 percent respectively. Current President Yoon Suk Yeol was placed fifth with 2.9 percent, while his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, was fourth with 9 percent.
 

▲ Courtesy of Son Heung-min's instagramThe survey also identified Adm. Yi Sun-shin from the Joseon era as the most admired person, receiving 14 percent of the votes, a position he has held since Gallup Korea began this survey in 2014. Joseon’s King Sejong was second with 10 percent. In this category, Park Chung-hee received 7 percent of the votes, and Roh Moo-hyun received 4.5 percent.

In the category of favorite entrepreneurs, Chung Ju-yung, the late founder of Hyundai Group, received 22 percent of the votes, narrowly surpassing Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who received 21 percent. Lee Jae-yong is noted as the wealthiest South Korean alive, according to the 2024 Forbes report. Following them were former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee with 15 percent and Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul with 6 percent.

The favorite novelist category showed more evenly distributed votes, with the late Pak Kyongni leading at 6 percent. Other notable figures included the late Lee Oi-soo with 4.9 percent, Jo Jeong-rae with 3.8 percent, and Gong Ji-young with 3.7 percent. Han Kang, the first Korean author to win the Man Booker International Prize, ranked eighth with 3 percent.

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Kelly.K, pittou8181@gmail.com