[E-Daily Reporter LEE JUNGHYUN ] The trend of people moving out of Seoul and into Gyeonggi Province is accelerating. The net outflow of people—those who moved from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province and did not return to Seoul—has surged by nearly 50% on a monthly average over the past year. More than one in two of these people are in their 20s and 30s.

According to data titled “Current Status of Population Migration from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province” submitted to Rep. Kim Jong-yang of the People Power Party—a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee—by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 28th, the proportion of net outflow relative to the total population moving from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province has shown a distinct upward trend around the time the current administration took office.

The net outflow rate, which stood at 12.6% in the first half of last year, rose to 17.2% in the second half. From January through August of this year, it climbed to 17.7%.

The increase in the monthly average net outflow is even steeper. The monthly average net outflow of people leaving Seoul for Gyeonggi Province rose from 2,985 in the first half of 2025 to 3,912 in the second half, and has further increased to 4,476 so far this year. Compared to the first half of last year, this represents an increase of approximately 50% in just over a year, indicating that this one-way population migration is intensifying.

By age group, the outflow of young adults was particularly pronounced. The proportion of people in their 30s remained steady at 29.8% in 2024 and 29.5% in 2025, but rose to 30.8% from January through August 2026, surpassing the 30% mark for the first time ever. This year, the migration of people in their 20s and 30s from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province totaled 98,724, accounting for 54.9% of the total.

Critics point out that “youth housing gentrification”—a phenomenon in which young people are forced out of Seoul to its outskirts and the Gyeonggi region because they cannot afford the city’s high rent and housing prices—is becoming entrenched.

Rep. Kim Jong-yang stated, “The fact that this phenomenon—where citizens are unable to live in the areas they desire due to high housing prices and living costs and are being pushed to the outskirts—is becoming entrenched is by no means an issue to be taken lightly.” He added, “The current administration must thoroughly examine the structural links between this population migration and existing real estate policies, and comprehensively reassess the direction of housing policies to ensure citizens can settle stably where they wish.”