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| A resident of Daechu-ri village in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province sees her furniture being loaded on a truck as she prepares to move from the town. Korea Times file |
The number of South Koreans who changed residences to different regions remained unchanged in May, data showed Wednesday, as the coronavirus outbreak restricted public movement.
The number of people who changed their residences was unchanged from a year ago at 569,000 in May, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
In April, the figure rose 4.6 percent on-year as the nation eased social distancing rules over the stabilization of the coronavirus outbreak.
The population mobility rate ― the number of those changing residences for every 100 people ― was also unchanged at 13.1 percent.
South Korea had reported hundreds of new virus cases per day in late February and early March but has appeared to bring the outbreak under control.
An apparent stabilization of the outbreak prompted the government to relax social distancing rules in mid-April, but health authorities saw a "second wave" of infections due to holidays in early May.
Seoul and its neighboring areas have reported some 30 to 50 daily new infections since last month.
The government's stricter regulations on mortgage loans, an effort to reduce household debt, also affected population mobility. (Yonhap)
