Changwon City Faces Crisis of Population Falling Below 1 Million... Special City Status at Risk

Population of Changwon City Viewed on the Map. / Changwon City Hall Website

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] Changwon City in Gyeongnam, the only basic local government with a population of 1 million excluding metropolitan cities nationwide, is starting efforts to increase its population from the beginning of the new year.

On the 4th, Changwon City announced that it will launch the ‘Population 1 Million Defense Task Force.’

The city expanded the population policy team that was under the Planning Office. The number of personnel increased from 3 to 6.

The task force was created to improve efficiency by gathering population increase policies scattered across other departments, such as support funds for university students and company employees moving in.

The sense of crisis that Changwon City feels is significant enough to establish a dedicated department for increasing population. Changwon City was formed in July 2010 by merging three cities?Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae?that shared the same living area.

As of December 2010, the first year of integration, Changwon City's population (excluding foreigners) exceeded 1.09 million. Except for the three major metropolitan cities in the Seoul metropolitan area?Suwon, Goyang, and Yongin?it became the only basic local government in the country with a population exceeding 1 million.

With the background of a population of 1 million, it also gained the status of a special city with metropolitan-level administrative and financial authority. The full revision of the Local Autonomy Act, passed by the National Assembly in December last year, stipulates that ‘large cities with a population of 1 million or more shall be designated as special cities.’

The population of 1 million was set as the criterion for special city status. However, the population of Changwon City, which had briefly increased after the integration, has been steadily declining since around 2011?2012.

The number of workers decreased due to the decline of the main industry, manufacturing. Population outflow accelerated as citizens moved en masse to Gimhae City, where commuting was possible and housing prices were cheaper, due to rising apartment prices.

The population of 1.05 million, which Changwon City had set as its last line, collapsed in 2019. As of November last year, the population decreased to 1,037,000. The population decline trend continues at a rate of 500 to 600 people per month.

Changwon City expressed concern that if this continues, the population of 1 million could collapse between 2024 and 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.