Kim Chae-won tops Picnic’s first-half female star poll

Le Sserafim’s Kim Chae-won topped the female star category of Picnic’s first-half chart. Picnic is a K-pop themed fan-voting platform.

In the poll, which ran from July 17 through 31, Kim Chae-won received 33,860 votes. BabyMonster’s Chiquita came in second with 28,165 votes, while ifeye’s Kasia ranked third with 14,804 votes. The poll featured only candidates who had ranked third or higher in polls conducted by the fan-voting platform during the first half of this year.

Kim Chae-won made her debut as a member of IZ*ONE in 2018 through the audition program “Produce 48” (2018) and redebuted in 2022 as the leader of Le Sserafim. Throughout her career with the two groups, she has established herself as an artist known for her vocal and performance skills as well as her leadership, according to Picnic.

Le Sserafim kicked off its Japan tour last month and is set to perform at Summer Sonic 2026, one of Japan’s largest music festivals, on Friday and Sunday.

“On the K-pop scene, a virtuous cycle has been forming in which a group’s music and performance achievements raise individual members’ profiles, while support from fans for individual members in turn strengthens the group’s overall brand competitiveness,” a Picnic spokesperson said.

Picnic hosts weekly polls on a wide range of K-pop topics in collaboration with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Participation in the polls is available through Picnic's official website and mobile app.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]