September Domestic Migration Hits 53-Year Low Due to Chuseok; Incheon, Chungcheong See Net Inflow

The number of domestic residents who moved across administrative boundaries in September hit its lowest level in 53 years, largely affected by the Chuseok holiday.

According to the Domestic Population Migration Statistics released today (the 28th) by Statistics Korea, the number of people who changed their residences across town, township, and neighborhood boundaries in September stood at 444,000, a decrease of 50,000 (10.1%) from the same month last year.

This is the lowest figure for any September since 1973 (378,000).

While the number of people moving has been on a long-term downward trend due to aging and population decline, it is also influenced in the short term by housing transaction volumes and the supply of apartments scheduled for occupancy.

Unlike last year, September included the Chuseok holiday, which also contributed to a reduction in moving.

The migration rate (the number of movers per 100 population) dropped 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 10.6%.

This marks the lowest level since related statistics began to be compiled in 2000.

Despite the overall decline in the number of movers, the Chungcheong region, where the semiconductor industry is densely clustered, experienced a net population influx.

By municipality, six regions saw a net inflow, including Incheon (1,956 people), South Chungcheong Province (1,032 people), and North Chungcheong Province (830 people).

Housing supply and job opportunities appear to have influenced the population influx.

Conversely, 10 regions experienced a net outflow, including Seoul (-2,359 people), South Jeolla and Gwangju (-531 people), and Busan (-401 people).

In terms of net migration rate, net inflows were recorded in Incheon (0.8%), North Chungcheong Province (0.6%), and South Chungcheong Province (0.6%), while net outflows were seen in Sejong (-0.9%), Ulsan (-0.4%), and Jeju (-0.4%).

For the third quarter (July to September), the number of domestic movers totaled 1.383 million, down 158,000 (10.2%) from the same period last year.

Similarly, this is the lowest level since 1973 (1.247 million).

The migration rate for the third quarter fell 1.2 percentage points from the same period last year to 10.8%, marking an all-time low.

During July and August, the number of movers also decreased due to a slowdown in housing transactions and a drop in apartment completion performance.

(Photo: Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.