The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday that South Korea’s real gross national income (GNI) rose 3.1% quarter on quarter and 15.6% year on year in the second quarter, far outpacing the 0.6% quarterly increase in real GDP, as stronger export prices improved the country’s purchasing power. Gross operating surplus, a measure that includes corporate profits, jumped 18.5% from the first quarter, while employee compensation rose 1.9%.

The income surge pushed South Korea’s gross saving rate to a record 45.6%, up 3.9 percentage points from the previous quarter. BOK National Income Division head Kim Hwa-yong said during a briefing that