SEJONG– The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell to a 46-year low in August due to population aging and sluggish housing transactions, data showed Wednesday.
The number of people who changed their residences came to 519,000 last month, down 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The reading marked the lowest since August 1976, when it came to 471,000, and population mobility dropped for the 20th consecutive month in August.
The fall mainly resulted from a demographic change and a decline in housing transactions.
People in their 20s and 30s tend to frequently change their residences due to housing prices and work. But the proportion of such young adults continued to fall amid low birthrates, while that of senior citizens rose due to rapid population aging.
Housing transactions also remained sluggish as home prices fell due to rising interest rates.
The population mobility rate — the percentage of those relocating per 100 people — came to 11.9 percent in August, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year.
Seoul chalked up a net outflow of 884 people last month, while the western port city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the most populous province that surrounds the capital, posted net inflows of 3,341 and 2,150, respectively.
A growing number of Seoulites are moving to the adjacent province and Incheon to find cheaper homes.
Seoul, the country’s second-largest city of Busan, and seven other cities and provinces posted net outflows, with Incheon, Gyeonggi and six others registering net inflows, according to the data.
Source: Yonhap News Agency