S. Korea's GNI per capita rose to US$ 36,624 in 2024, overtaking Japan and Taiwan

The country witnessed a modest rise in income growth last year amid a weaker Korean currency against the greenback.

Our Moon Hye-ryeon covers this latest finding and its regional implications.

South Korea's gross national income per capita edged up by just over one percent last year due to the Korean won's depreciation against the U.S. dollar.

Preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Wednesday shows that it grew by five-point-seven percent in the local currency, but when converted into U.S. dollars, 36-thousand-624 dollars reflects a much lower growth rate of one-point-two percent.

South Korea's GNI per capita first surpassed the 30-thousand dollar mark back in 2014 and continued steady growth before dropping in 2022 due to the weakening of the won against the greenback.

The Bank of Korea stated that it is estimated to have surpassed that of Japan and Taiwan once again.

"According to Taiwan's statistics agency, Taiwan's GNI per capita stood at 35-thousand-188 dollars last year. As for Japan, our calculations based on official data and exchange rates suggest that it was slightly above 34-thousand-500 dollars. Like the year before that, South Korea's GNI per capita is believed to be higher than that of both Japan and Taiwan."

Comparing GNI per capita among countries with populations above 50 million people, the BOK noted that only five had higher figures than South Korea.

The central bank cautioned that exchange rate fluctuations could affect previous forecasts.

"The IMF projected last year that South Korea's GNI per capita would surpass 41-thousand dollars in 2027, but given recent exchange rate volatility, this estimate requires further observation."

Meanwhile, the country's gross domestic product, which doesn't include overseas earnings, increased by two percent year-on-year.

This is the same as the preliminary estimate given in January, but some revisions to sector-specific growth figures were made.

Exports, government spending, and imports were revised upwards, while construction investment and facility investment figures were cut.

Moon Hye-ryeon, Arirang News.