Korean mobility hits 50-year low

Buildings in Seoul viewed from Mount Namsan in central Seoul [YONHAP]

The number of Koreans who have moved to different residences within the country fell to its lowest level in about 50 years last year, data showed Tuesday, amid an aging population and a housing market slump.

The number of people who relocated inched down 0.4 percent on year to 6.13 million in 2023, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

That's the smallest reported figure since 1974, when about 5.29 million people changed their residences.

The population's mobility rate — or percent who have relocated — came to 12 percent last year, unchanged from a year earlier.

The 2023 reading was the lowest since 1972, when the figure came to 11 percent.

The number of people who changed residences decreased for the third year in a row last year. In 2022, the figure dropped by the largest margin in nearly 50 years, or 14.7 percent on year, to 6.15 million.

Yonhap