Population Balance

[Anchor Lead]

About half of South Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area, resulting in overpopulation. To solve this problem and promote regional balance, the government has been promoting the relocation of public agencies to innovation cities over the past five years. But it has been found that many public agency employees moved there alone, leaving their families in the Seoul metropolitan area, while many others still commute from the capital-city.

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According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the National Assembly's audit and inspection of state affairs, only about 32 percent of some 33,200 public agency employees who have relocated to ten innovation cities nationwide moved there along with their families. By region, the percentage was the highest in Busan Innovation City, where it stands at slightly over 44 percent. It was followed by Jeju and Ulsan innovation cities. By contrast, nearly 38 percent moved to innovation cities alone, while their families continue to reside in the Seoul metropolitan area.

[Soundbite] (Public Agency Employee (Voice modified)) : "I decided to relocate here alone because I didn't want my child to transfer to another school."

Some 1,900 public agency employees, or 5.9 percent, still commute daily to innovation cities from the Seoul metropolitan area. Most of them commute to innovation cities located close to Seoul. All this points to the need to devise measures to encourage people to move to innovation cities along with their families.

[Soundbite] Ham Jun-kyu (Nat'l Assembly Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee) : "Measures are needed to help employees whose spouses are teachers or public officials to transfer to other areas."

Meanwhile, satisfaction with life in innovation cities was the highest in Busan, at 61.6 points. It was trailed by innovation cities in Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gangwon-do provinces.