South Korea:In November population mobility reaches a 51-year low

South Korea: According to statistics released on Wednesday, slow housing transactions and demographic shifts caused the number of South Koreans moving to new residences to drop to the lowest level in 51 years for any November.

According to statistics from the Ministry of statistics and Statistics, over 428,000 individuals moved last month, which is 8.2% less than a year ago, according to Yonhap news agency.

This is the lowest number for November since 394,000 individuals relocated in 1974.

Due to population aging and decline, population mobility has been decreasing. The supply of new units and property transactions can have an impact on short-term trends.

“Housing transaction volumes in September and October, which could affect mobility figures for November, rose slightly from a year earlier, but the number of completed apartment units declined,” according to a ministry representative.

The proportion of persons moving per 100 inhabitants, or the population mobility rate, fell 0.9 percentage points year over year to 10.2 percent, the lowest since the ministry started collecting pertinent statistics in 2000.

According to the central bank on Wednesday, growing inflationary pressure and the depreciating value of the local currency caused South Korea’s consumer mood to plummet in December for the first time in about a year.

According to a Bank of Korea (BOK) poll, the composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) fell to 109.9 last month, down 2.5 points from November.

It was the biggest drop since December 2024, when the nation was experiencing political unrest after martial rule was imposed by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Optimists outweigh pessimists when the reading is over 100, and the inverse is true when it is below 100.

“The decline was driven by widening price increases in everyday necessities, such as agricultural and fisheries products and petroleum items,” Lee Hye-young, a BOK official, said.

“Consumer concerns have also grown over external uncertainties, including heightened exchange-rate volatility and a reassessment of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry,” said the official.