Choi Jung-tae, head of the national accounts coordination team of the Bank of Korea's Economic Statistics Department, on June 5 speaks at a briefing on this year's quarterly results of the first revision of national income (provisional) and accounts as of 2020 at the bank's headquarters in Seoul's Jung-gu District. (Bank of Korea)

By Yoon Seungjin

Gross national income (GNI) in the first quarter rose 2.4% from the fourth quarter last year for its largest increase in eight years.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on June 5 released the results of its first-phase revision of national accounts with 2020 as the base year, saying GNI per capita last year was USD 36,194.

This placed the nation sixth among countries with more than 50 million people behind the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France and Italy and ahead of Japan for the first time.

The bank attributed the rise in GNI to a significant boost in first-quarter exports while imports declined.

Choi Jung-tae, head of the national accounts coordination team of the bank's Economic Statistics Department, said "In the first quarter, prices of information technology exports such as semiconductors rose year on year, while those of imports such as crude oil declined, contributing to higher GNI growth."

"Assuming that the foreign exchange rate stabilizes, GNI of USD 40,000 per capita is possible within a few years if this trend continues."

scf2979@korea.kr