South Korea's Domestic Moves Fall to 53-Year Low in September

South Korea recorded 444,000 domestic moves in September 2025, the lowest figure for any September since 1973, Statistics Korea reported on October 28. The total fell 50,000, or 10.1 percent, from the same month last year. The last time a September posted a lower count was 1973, when 378,000 people moved.

The data come from the Domestic Population Migration Statistics, which count residents who change address across town, township and neighborhood boundaries. The migration rate — movers per 100 population — dropped 1.2 percentage points year on year to 10.6 percent, the lowest level since the series began in 2000.

Why did moves fall so sharply?

Two forces drove the decline. A long-term slide in relocations reflects an aging population and overall population decline. Short-term factors include housing transaction volumes and the supply of apartments scheduled for occupancy.

This September also contained the Chuseok holiday, which fell outside the comparable month last year. Statistics Korea said the holiday reduced moving activity on top of the structural downtrend.

In plain words: fewer people exist to move, fewer homes changed hands, and a national holiday stopped many of the remaining moves.

Which regions gained and lost residents?

Despite the national drop, regions tied to the semiconductor industry attracted net inflows.

Net inflow regions in September:

• Incheon: +1,956 people
• South Chungcheong Province: +1,032
• North Chungcheong Province: +830
• Three further regions also recorded gains, for six net-inflow municipalities in total

Net outflow regions numbered ten and included:

• Seoul: -2,359 people
• South Jeolla Province and Gwangju: -531
• Busan: -401

Statistics Korea linked the inflows to housing supply and job opportunities in the Chungcheong region, where semiconductor plants cluster densely.

By net migration rate, Incheon led at 0.8 percent, followed by North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province at 0.6 percent each. The largest net outflow rates were Sejong at -0.9 percent, Ulsan at -0.4 percent and Jeju at -0.4 percent.

What do the third-quarter figures show?

The quarterly picture confirms the trend. Moves in July, August and September totaled 1.383 million, down 158,000 or 10.2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. That is the lowest third-quarter total since 1973, when 1.247 million people moved.

The quarterly migration rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 10.8 percent, an all-time low for the series.

In July and August, movers declined because housing transactions slowed and apartment completion performance dropped, according to the statistics agency.

The takeaway for readers tracking internal migration: Korea's population is redistributing toward Incheon and the semiconductor corridor of Chungcheong while Seoul and the southern regions shed residents, and every headline measure of mobility now sits at or near a half-century low.