[Provided by Leaders Index]

Over the past four years, the MZ generation population has become increasingly concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and the Chungcheong region. While cities centered on high-tech industries such as semiconductors and displays have seen an influx of the MZ generation, cities reliant on traditional manufacturing have experienced a notable outflow.

According to an analysis of domestic net migration by Leaders Index released on the 28th, based on data from the National Data Agency for the period from July 2022 to May of this year—which corresponds to the term of the 8th popularly elected local governments—there were seven metropolitan autonomous entities that saw a net influx of the MZ generation: Gyeonggi-do, Seoul, Incheon, Chungnam, Sejong, Daejeon, and Chungbuk.

Gyeonggi-do recorded the highest net influx of the MZ generation with 105,785 people, followed by Seoul (66,561), Incheon (44,976), Chungnam (7,895), Sejong (6,059), Daejeon (4,569), and Chungbuk (3,109).

The Seoul metropolitan area, consisting of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, accounted for 90.9% of the total net influx of 238,954 people in the MZ generation.

At the level of basic autonomous entities, the differences based on industrial foundations and residential conditions were stark.

Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek, where Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plants are located, saw a net influx of 49,150 and 24,748 MZ individuals, respectively.

In contrast, Ansan and Changwon, both centers of traditional manufacturing, saw outflows of 19,779 and 16,293 people, respectively.

In particular, Ansan and Changwon ranked first and second for the largest net outflow of the MZ generation among 77 cities nationwide, with the MZ generation accounting for more than half of the total net population outflow across all age groups.

A correlation was also observed between apartment prices and the migration of the MZ generation.

In Jeonju, the MZ population began to decline starting in 2023 when apartment prices rose, recording a cumulative net outflow of 15,443 people during the 8th local government term. Yangcheon-gu in Seoul, which showed a similar trend, saw a net outflow of 8,313 MZ individuals during the same period.

Conversely, Gangseo-gu in Busan showed an opposite trend, with an increase in the MZ population and a net influx of 4,879 people during a period around 2024 when apartment prices were falling.