South Korea Reports Drop in Mobility for Third Month

2025-06-25 01:37:16

(MENAFN) South Korea's internal migration dropped for the third consecutive month, underscoring the nation’s worsening demographic crisis, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea.

In May, 473,000 people changed their residence either within or across provinces and cities—marking a 4.9% decline from a year earlier. This follows previous decreases of 2.6% in March and 10.7% in April, continuing a multi-year downward trend driven by a shrinking, aging population.

The sustained slump in the real estate market has also dampened residential mobility across the country.

The population mobility rate—defined as the number of relocations per 100 individuals—fell by 0.6 percentage points year-over-year to 10.9% in May.

Seoul, the nation's capital, recorded a net population loss of 3,657 residents. Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, also saw an exodus, with 1,014 more people leaving than arriving.
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province, which encircles Seoul, welcomed a net inflow of 3,205 people. The western port city of Incheon similarly posted a net gain of 3,237 residents.

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