▲ People walk around the district of Myeongdong in central Seoul on April 2, 2023. (Yonhap)

population mobility-March

Population mobility up in March amid housing market rebound

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Koreans moving to other regions slightly moved up in March from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the local housing market showed signs of a rebound.

Around 589,000 people changed their residences last month, up 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, snapping the 26th consecutive month of decline posted through February.

South Korea's housing market had been experiencing a downturn in recent months due to the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening measures. However, since the bank's decision to maintain rates in February, the market has shown indications of recovery.

According to data from the Korea Real Estate Board, the number of houses traded in February was 41,191, a 4.6 percent decrease from the previous year. Despite this decline, the figure represented a nearly 60 percent increase from the preceding month.

The population mobility rate -- the percentage of those relocating per 100 people -- reached 13.5 percent in March, up 0.1 percentage point on-year.

Incheon, just 40 kilometers west of Seoul, reported a net inflow of 2,839 people, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 2,315 and South Chungcheong Province with 1,644.

South Gyeongsang Province, on the other hand, lost 2,116 people, with Gwangju, 329 kilometers southwest of Seoul, and Daegu, 302 kilometers southeast of the capital city, losing 1,272 and 1,247, respectively, over the period. Seoul posted a decrease of 878.

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