After Public Institution Relocation Ends, 116,000 Net Inflow to the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Statistics Korea "Re-concentration in the Capital Area... Intensified Inflow into Gyeonggi"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As the effects of relocating public institutions have disappeared, the phenomenon of population concentration in the metropolitan area has resumed.

On the 29th, Statistics Korea announced the '2020 Population and Housing Census Sample Tabulation Results - Population Characteristics Items' containing this information. The census is conducted once every five years.

As of November 1st last year, the number of people who moved from outside the metropolitan area to the metropolitan area within one year was 978,000, while those who moved from the metropolitan area to non-metropolitan areas was 862,000. This means a net inflow of 116,000 people into the metropolitan area. This contrasts with a net outflow of 85,000 in 2015. Namsoo Jeong, head of the Population Census Division at Statistics Korea, said, "In 2015, there were factors causing outflow from the metropolitan area to innovation cities and Sejong City, but last year, those outflow factors disappeared, and concentration in the metropolitan area resumed," adding, "Within the metropolitan area, inflow to Gyeonggi Province is intensifying." Innovation cities were established in 10 locations including Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Jeju, Gwangju-Jeonnam, Gangwon, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongbuk as part of the relocation of public institutions to local areas. The relocation plan was established in 2005, actively implemented from 2014, and completed in 2019.

Looking at the scale of population moving into the metropolitan area, Chungnam had the highest number with 62,000, followed by Gangwon with 46,000, and Chungbuk with 35,000. The concentration toward Gyeonggi within the metropolitan area was prominent. The provinces and cities where the population increased due to more incoming than outgoing residents were Gyeonggi (176,000), Gyeongnam (15,000), and Sejong (10,000). The population that moved from Seoul to Gyeonggi last year was 266,000, while those who moved from Gyeonggi to Seoul were 180,000. This means a net inflow of 86,000 from Seoul to Gyeonggi. Jeong said, "It appears that the population moved to Gyeonggi due to many new apartment move-ins in places like Gimpo and Dongtan in Gyeonggi."

The one-year residential mobility rate, indicating the proportion of the population aged one and over who changed their residence compared to one year ago, was 16.6%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the 2015 survey. Among these, the mobility rate crossing city, county, and district boundaries was 7.2%, up 1.6 percentage points. Regarding the birthplace of the population, Seoul was the highest at 16.3%, followed by Gyeonggi (13.6%) and Gyeongbuk (8.7%).

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