Tourists take in a view of Seoul, filled with apartments, from Mount Nam, Sept. 25. Yonhap

Korea is the most reliant on its capital city for generating gross domestic product (GDP) and creating jobs among the seven wealthy countries in the so-called 30-50 club, according to data, Monday.

The club consists of OECD member nations whose per capita income exceeds $30,000 and whose population surpasses 50 million.

The six others are the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

Data released by Rep. Kwon Young-jin of the ruling People Power Party showed that Seoul and its surrounding areas accounted for 52.5 percent of Korea's total GDP in 2022 and 58.5 percent of the total number of jobs in the same year.

All data concerning the seven countries is from 2022 and was compiled by the National Assembly Research Service.

The contribution of Korea's capital city to the national economy was 10 times higher than that of the U.S., as Washington accounted for 5.1 percent of the country's GDP and 4.9 percent of all jobs nationwide.

The GDP dependency ratio on the capital city was 24.3 percent in Japan, 31.3 percent in France, 23.1 percent in the U.K., 10.9 percent in Italy, and 4.6 percent in Germany.

The job market in Korea was also more heavily centered around the capital city.

Compared to Korea's 58.8 percent, 30.8 percent of jobs were concentrated in the capital city in Japan, followed by France at 23.5 percent, the U.K. at 14.4 percent, Italy at 10 percent and Germany at 4.6 percent.

The finding comes as more people across Korea, particularly younger individuals, flock to Seoul in search of jobs and a better quality of life.

For instance, 50.5 percent of the country's total population was concentrated in Seoul and the surrounding areas of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, according to the data.

This rate surpassed Japan's 29.5 percent, France's 18.2 percent, the U.K.'s 13.1 percent, Italy's 9.7 percent, Germany's 4.5 percent and the U.S.' 4.7 percent.

“It is not surprising that a capital is usually the most populous city in a country,” Rep. Kwon said. “However, Korea's regional contribution to the national economy is far too disproportionate,” he added.

The lawmaker urged the government to implement measures to move away from Seoul-centered growth, warning that “rural areas will perish, and the country's economy will ultimately be jeopardized.”