Signal Capital-region concentration widens output, investment and population gaps

Summary

The government reports that output in regions outside the capital area has been below that of the capital region since 2015. The capital region hosts 95.5 percent of the thirty largest companies and all of the ten largest comprehensive universities. Annual investment growth was 4.2 percent in the capital region against 5.0 percent elsewhere in 2000 to 2011, but 3.6 against 2.0 percent in 2012 to 2023. Between 2015 and 2024 the capital region gained 580,000 residents while other regions lost 890,000. A 2024 Bank of Korea estimate finds that a one percent productivity gain in large non-capital cities would raise GDP by 1.3 percent, more than the 1.1 percent effect in capital-region cities.