Pyeongtaek City Approaching 600,000 Residents After 28 Years of Population Growth

Holding the National Longest Record of 161 Months
Abundant Jobs Including Samsung Electronics + Effects of Residential Land Development

Despite concerns about population extinction due to a sharp decline in birth rates, there is a city where the population has increased for 161 consecutive months. That city is Pyeongtaek-si in Gyeonggi-do.

According to Statistics Korea and Pyeongtaek-si on the 9th, the population of Pyeongtaek-si recorded 591,022 as of the end of December last year, continuing an increase for 28 consecutive years.

Pyeongtaek City Hall exterior view. [Photo by Pyeongtaek City]

The population of Pyeongtaek-si has continued to grow since the integration of three cities and counties?Pyeongtaek-gun, Songtan-si, and Pyeongtaek-si?in 1995. At the time of integration, the population was 321,636, and it has increased by an average of 9,600 people annually. During the same period, among all cities, counties, and districts nationwide, only five places including Pyeongtaek-si, Paju and Hwaseong-si in Gyeonggi-do, Wonju-si in Gangwon-do, and Asan-si in Chungnam showed annual population growth.

In particular, on a monthly basis, Pyeongtaek-si holds the longest continuous population growth among local governments nationwide. It has maintained an increase for 161 consecutive months from August 2010 to December last year.

The steady population growth in Pyeongtaek-si is evaluated as the combined effect of 'jobs' and 'housing supply.' A representative example is the effect of attracting the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus. Not only Samsung Electronics but also semiconductor partner companies have settled in Pyeongtaek, leading to population inflow due to job creation. Additionally, stable housing supply through land development such as Godeok International New City, which effectively serves as the residential area behind Samsung Electronics, is also cited as a background for the population increase.

The city plans to increase jobs by fostering industries such as hydrogen and future automobiles in addition to semiconductors, while steadily promoting land development projects like Brain City and Hwayang District. Therefore, it is expected that the population will exceed 600,000 by the end of this year.

Mayor Jeong Jang-seon said, "We will continue to establish region-specific industries and proceed with land development in preparation for population inflow," adding, "We will create residential conditions that can improve the quality of life for citizens, not just a city that attracts companies and builds many apartments, but a city where citizens want to live for a long time."

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