Korea's GNI pips Taiwan's again on won-dollar stabilization

People shop in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on Tuesday. Korea's gross national income per capita reached $33,745 last year, growing 2.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Bank of Korea data.[YONHAP]

Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita reached $33,745 last year to re-overtake that of Taiwan in a year as the economy started to pick up and the won stabilized against the greenback.

The country’s GNI grew 2.6 percent in 2023 from a year earlier, having retreated 7.4 percent in 2022 when the value of the won fell drastically against the U.S. dollar amid global economic uncertainties and aggressive monetary tightening in key economies following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the local currency, Korea's GNI last year grew 3.7 percent on year, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday.

Korea’s GNI had been higher than that of Taiwan since 2002, but slipped below Taiwan's for the first time in two decades in 2022 as the won was more volatile against the greenback than the Taiwanese currency.

Korea’s GNI first surpassed the $30,000 mark in 2017.

“The won rose 1.1 percent against the U.S. dollar last year while the Taiwanese currency rose 4.5 percent,” said the Bank of Korea. The won weakened 12.9 percent in 2022.

Korea’s economy grew 1.4 percent last year, remaining unchanged from the advance estimate, amid weak exports and restrictive monetary policies in key economies, the BOK data showed.

Last year’s real gross domestic product (GDP) — a key measure of economic growth — slowed from an increase of 2.6 percent in 2022 and 4.3 percent a year earlier, posting the lowest economic growth since Asia’s fourth-largest economy reported negative 0.7 percent in 2020, when the pandemic tore across the country.

On a quarterly basis, Korea’s economy gained 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, also in line with the earlier estimate.

The nation's economy has been recovering, with exports moving up for the fifth straight month in February, led by outbound shipments of chips, following the economic slowdown in the face of restrictive monetary tightening, escalating geopolitical tensions and rising household debt.

Korea’s central bank has kept the key interest rate frozen at 3.50 percent for nine straight meetings as inflation stays above the target rate and household debt continues to grow.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]