The number of people who changed their place of residence in South Korea last month was the lowest for any August in 53 years, as a shrinking population combined with a slumping housing market.
A total of 471,000 people moved in August, down 22,000, or 4.5%, from the same month a year earlier, according to data on domestic population movement released by Statistics Korea on the 23rd. That is the lowest figure for the month of August since August 1973, when 420,000 people moved.
The migration rate, or the number of movers per 100 people, also came in at just 10.9%. That was 0.5 percentage point lower than a year earlier and the lowest for the month of August since the statistics began in 2000.
The decline is also a long-term trend. In August 2016, 642,000 people changed residences, 171,000 more than this year. Over the same period, the migration rate fell 3.9 percentage points, to 10.9% from 14.8%.
A slowdown in the housing market is seen as a more recent factor. Home sales totaled 132,000 in June and July this year, down 4.4% from the same period a year earlier. Apartment completions over the same period fell 29.1%, to 43,000 units.
More people moved within the same region than across regions. Of all movers, 305,000, or 64.7%, relocated within the same city or province, while 166,000, or 35.3%, moved to a different city or province. The year-on-year decline was steeper for moves between regions, at 6.9%, than for moves within a region, at 3.2%.
By region, Gyeonggi Province drew the largest inflow of people. Its net inflow was 4,486, the highest in the country, followed by Incheon at 2,270 and North Chungcheong Province at 562. Seoul, by contrast, posted a net outflow of 2,901. South Gyeongsang Province saw a net outflow of 1,230, and Gwangju 1,081.
Measured as a net migration rate that accounts for population size, Incheon ranked highest at 0.9%, followed by Daejeon at 0.5% and North Chungcheong Province and Gyeonggi Province at 0.4% each. Sejong ranked lowest at minus 1.1%, while South Gyeongsang Province at minus 0.5% and Seoul, Gwangju, North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan at minus 0.4% each also recorded net outflows.
