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| This photo shows an apartment complex in Gangdong District, Seoul, July 2. Yonhap |
The number of Koreans moving to other regions fell in June from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, amid the slump in the local housing market.
Around 473,000 people changed their residences last month, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The on-year decrease came in line with the downturn in the housing market, influenced by a growing number of individuals postponing house purchases and loan applications due to the country's high borrowing costs.
According to data from the Korea Real Estate Board, the number of houses traded in May came to 55,176, down 12.7 percent from a year earlier. It nevertheless marked a 16 percent on-month rise.
Earlier this month, the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the fourth straight time. The central bank delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023.
The decrease was also attributable to the country's falling population, as younger people are more likely to relocate to other regions.
The population mobility rate ― the percentage of those relocating per 100 people ― reached 11.3 percent in June, down 0.1 percentage point on-year.
Gyeonggi Province saw a net inflow of 6,244 people, followed by South Chungcheong Province with 1,233.
The capital city of Seoul reported a net outflow of 4,233, with the southeastern port city of Busan posting a loss of 1,255 people.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter, the number of people who changed their residences fell 3.8 percent to 1.42 million. The population mobility rate moved down 0.4 percentage point over the period to 11.2 percent. (Yonhap)
