SEOUL - In a surprising turn, the number of South Koreans relocating residences fell by 4.4 percent to approximately 563,000 in March, marking the first decline in six months.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this reduction follows a period of increased home transactions and a significant number of relocations in February due to the new academic semester and other factors. The population mobility rate decreased slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 13 percent. Regionally, Seoul experienced a net outflow of 1,237 residents, while neighboring Gyeonggi Province and Incheon saw net inflows of 3,226 and 3,237, respectively. This downturn in mobility comes amid broader concerns of an aging population and a sluggish housing market, contributing to the lowest residential mobility rate in nearly five decades.