6 out of 10 Local Youth Hope to Move to the Capital Region for Jobs

FKCCI Announces 'Current Status and Outlook of Regional Economy' Results

As jobs decrease due to industrial decline within the region, a high proportion (64.4%) of people in their 20s living in non-metropolitan areas expressed a desire to move to the Seoul metropolitan area. Experts advised that revitalizing the local economy is necessary to alleviate the anticipated aging population phenomenon in these regions.

On the 11th, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced these findings based on a survey conducted by the polling firm Monoresearch. The survey targeted 1,000 citizens aged 18 and older living outside the Seoul metropolitan area regarding the "Current Status and Outlook of the Regional Economy."

Economic Outlook 'Bleak' Due to Industrial Decline in the Region

According to the survey, 71.2% of local residents responded that the regional economy would worsen this year compared to last year. The perceived economic condition this year was only 82.5% of last year's level. In particular, regions such as ▲Gwangju (77.8%) ▲Jeonbuk (78.2%) ▲Chungbuk (〃 79.8%) ▲Busan (80.4%) ▲Jeonnam (80.5%) ▲Jeju (80.7%) ▲Daegu (81.4%) ▲Gyeongbuk (82.2%) showed more negative economic outlooks than the overall average.

Negative responses were also prevalent regarding job prospects. 72.0% of local residents expected the number of jobs in their region to decrease this year compared to last year. The perceived job availability level this year remained at 82.5% of last year's level. Particularly, ▲Jeonbuk (75.8%) ▲Gwangju (77.7%) ▲Busan (78.0%) ▲Jeonnam (79.0%) ▲Chungbuk (80.3%) ▲Daegu (80.6%) ▲Jeju (81.6%) ▲Gyeongbuk (81.6%) showed pessimistic job outlooks.

Local residents cited industrial decline within the region (27.0%) as the main cause of economic contraction. They also pointed out sluggish local consumption (26.1%) and worsening regional finances (16.6%) as issues. To revitalize the regional economy, a majority believed that improving local job conditions such as revitalizing regional industries (53.5%) is necessary. They also saw the need to establish living infrastructure like hospitals.

Younger Generations More Likely to Leave the Region

49.4% of local residents predicted that their residential areas would disappear. Among them, 64.0% responded that this would happen within 20 years. Regional disappearance refers to the loss of regional functions, including administrative roles such as education, police, and fire services. Responses varied by region. While areas like Gyeongbuk, Jeonbuk, Ulsan, Jeonnam, Gangwon, and Daegu leaned toward expecting regional disappearance, regions such as Busan, Jeju, Daejeon, Chungbuk, Gyeongnam, Chungnam, Gwangju, and Sejong viewed the possibility as relatively low.

Additionally, 41.1% of local residents expressed a desire to move to the Seoul metropolitan area in the future. Younger generations showed higher response rates, with 64.4% of those in their 20s hoping to migrate, about 2.3 times higher than the 28.3% of those aged 60 and above. The most cited reason for wanting to move was poor job conditions (47.4%). This was followed by a lack of cultural and recreational facilities (20.9%) and insufficient access to healthcare and medical facilities (20.4%).

The FKI forecasted that the aging population phenomenon in local areas could intensify further in the future. Choo Kwang-ho, head of the FKI's Economic and Industrial Headquarters, advised, "To prevent the outflow of young people from local areas, it is necessary to create conditions for generating quality jobs through regional economic revitalization." He added, "It is a critical time to promote the tourism industry and to discover and nurture regional growth engines."

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