▲ Apartment complexes in Songpa-gu, Seoul
The number of domestic movers in June reached its highest level for the month of June in five years.
According to the "June Domestic Population Movement Statistics" released by the Statistics Korea today (the 29th), the number of domestic movers last month stood at 481,000, an increase of 3,000 (0.6%) compared to the same month last year.
This is the highest for any June since 2021, when the figure was 544,000.
While population mobility has been on a long-term downward trend due to a shrinking youth population—who are typically the most mobile—it is influenced in the short term by market conditions such as housing transactions.
Statistics Korea analyzed that home sales during April and May totaled 136,000 units, a 6.3% increase from the same period last year, which subsequently led to the increase in mobility in June.
The agency also explained that the government selected seven additional counties in June for a pilot project providing a basic income for rural residents, which contributed to an increase in inward migration centered around those regions.
Among all movers, intra-provincial movers accounted for 65.9%, while inter-provincial movers made up 34.1%.
Intra-provincial movement increased by 1.4% compared to the same month last year, whereas inter-provincial movement decreased by 0.7%.
The migration rate, which represents the number of movers per 100 people, stood at 11.5%, up 0.1 percentage points (p) from a year earlier.
This also marked the highest level for the month of June since 2021 (12.9%).
Looking at net migration (inflows minus outflows) by city and province, seven regions including Gyeonggi (5,161), Incheon (2,229), and North Chungcheong (863) recorded net population inflows.
Conversely, the remaining 10 regions, including Seoul (-5,697), Busan (-1,149), and Daegu (-822), experienced net outflows.
For the second quarter (April to June) of this year, the total number of movers reached 1,453,000, representing a 1.8% (26,000) increase from the same period last year.
This was the highest for a second quarter in two years, since 2024 (1,471,000).
During the same period, the migration rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 11.5%.
Regarding net migration by city and province in the second quarter, seven regions including Gyeonggi (11,391), Incheon (4,442), and North Chungcheong (3,608) saw net inflows, while 10 regions including Seoul (-16,259), Busan (-2,596), and Gwangju (-1,844) recorded net outflows.
By age group, people in their 30s recorded the highest number of movers at 343,000, followed by those in their 20s at 325,000.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of movers increased across all age groups except for children under 10 and people in their 40s.
An official from Statistics Korea explained, "In the case of people in their 40s, it appears that a decrease in the population size itself is partly having an effect."
Reasons for migration are compiled separately in annual statistics.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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