Frozen Population Movement...Net Inflow to Sudogwon and Net Outflow from Yeonghonam

Last Year Mover Count 6.12 Million
0.4% Decrease Compared to Previous Year
Impact of Real Estate Market Cold Spell

Population movement has remained at its lowest level in 50 years for the second consecutive year. While the Seoul metropolitan area and the nearby central region experienced net inflows, Yeongnam and Honam regions saw net outflows, clearly indicating a trend of regional extinction.

According to the '2023 Domestic Population Movement Statistics Results' released by Statistics Korea on the 30th, the total number of domestic population movers last year was 6,129,000, a decrease of 0.4% (23,000 people) compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is ending its 70-year era in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, since the establishment of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Office of General Affairs in 1948, and will relocate to Sejong City over the next three weeks starting today. The relocation to Sejong City was confirmed as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's national agenda, following the amendment of the Happy City Act in 2017 and last year's "Notice of Change in the Relocation Plan of Central Administrative Agencies." On the 7th, officials are moving belongings at the Government Seoul Office Building. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The 'population movement rate,' which indicates the number of movers per 100 people, was 12.0%, the lowest in 51 years since 1972 (11.0%). The population movement rate has remained around 12% consecutively in 2022 and 2023. This is believed to be due to the ongoing real estate downturn.

Intra-provincial moves accounted for 65.0% (3,986,000 people) of all movers, while inter-provincial moves accounted for 35.0% (2,143,000 people).

By age group, the movement rates were high among those in their 20s (22.8%) and 30s (20.1%), and low among those aged 60 and above. The movement rates for those in their 30s and under 10 years old increased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, while those in their 60s, 70s, and 80s decreased by 0.4 percentage points. The movement rate by gender was 12.4% for men and 11.6% for women, with men having a 0.8 percentage point higher rate than women.

Provinces with net population inflows across all age groups were Incheon and Gyeonggi. Seoul experienced net outflows in all age groups except those in their teens and 20s; Busan saw net outflows among those under 20; Ulsan among those aged 80 and above; and Gyeongnam among all age groups except those in their 50s and above.

People in their 20s showed net inflows in five provinces including Seoul (3.4%), Sejong (1.3%), and Incheon (1.0%), while 12 provinces including Gyeongnam (-4.0%), Jeonnam (-3.4%), and Jeonbuk (-3.3%) experienced net outflows. In contrast, from the 30s age group and above, the trend of net outflows from Seoul continued. This suggests that people in their 30s and older are leaving Seoul due to housing cost burdens and settling in the metropolitan area.

The area attracting the most migrants leaving Seoul is Gyeonggi Province. 60.5% of those leaving Seoul moved to Gyeonggi, and Gyeonggi was the top destination for both in-migration and out-migration for five other provinces: Incheon, Gangwon, Chungbuk, Chungnam, and Jeonbuk. The top origin and destination for Gyeonggi's migration was also Seoul. 51.5% of Gyeonggi's in-migrants came from Seoul, and 45.7% of Gyeonggi's out-migrants moved to Seoul.

The main reasons for migration were housing (34.0%), family (24.1%), and employment (22.8%), accounting for 80.9% of all migration reasons. Within provinces, housing (42.6%) was the most common reason for moving, whereas between provinces, employment (35.1%) was the leading cause.

Nationally, net inflows occurred in the Seoul metropolitan and central regions, while net outflows were seen in the Yeongnam and Honam regions. The Seoul metropolitan area had a net inflow of 47,000 people, an increase of 10,000 from the previous year. The central region also recorded a net inflow of 18,000 people, despite a decrease of 17,000 from the previous year. Conversely, the Honam region experienced a net outflow of 15,000 people, an increase of 2,000 compared to the previous year. The Yeongnam region's net outflow decreased by 13,000 from the previous year but still reached 47,000 people.

Looking at the trends, the central region is attracting population from Honam (11,000) and Yeongnam (38,000), while both Yeongnam and Honam are experiencing outflows to the Seoul metropolitan and central regions. Particularly by age group, the Seoul metropolitan area sees net inflows among those aged 30 and under, whereas Yeongnam experiences net outflows in all age groups except those aged 50 and above.

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