Korea’s GNI jumps 9.2% in first quarter of 2026, outpacing GDP growth by factor of 5

Korea’s real gross national income (GNI) for the first quarter of 2026 rose by 9.2% compared to the previous quarter, government figures show, which was considerably higher than the 1.8% bump in the real gross domestic product (GDP). GNI growth appears to be due to improved trading conditions.

According to provisional national income figures for the first quarter released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday, the real GDP rose 1.8% on a quarterly basis and rose 3.8% from the same quarter last year. Nominal GDP posted 10.5% quarterly growth and 17.1% growth year over year.

The central bank said the new figures reflect performance figures for March (the final month in the first quarter) that were not available when it calculated an earlier prediction. The upward revision was largely due to facility investment (+1.8 points) and private sector consumption (+0.1 points).

According to the BOK figures, real GNI increased by 9.2% from the previous quarter and by 13.2% from the same quarter of the previous year, while nominal GNI increased by 11% and 17.1% over the same time periods.

GNI refers to the total income earned by a country’s citizens through productive activities both inside and outside that country. Therefore, the figure for Korea includes income earned by Korean citizens living outside Korea and excludes income earned by non-Koreans living in Korea.