Signal Sejong drew the largest capital-region inflow but turned to net outflow for the first time in 2025

Summary

Sejong, the multifunctional administrative city, recorded the largest inflow from the capital region of all the relocation destinations, at 10,840 people in 2024. In 2025, however, the city recorded net outflow for the first time. The analysis also detects a tendency for Sejong to function as a satellite of neighbouring Daejeon. Sejong is therefore grouped with the Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk innovation cities among the places that have recently tipped into net outflow. The report also treats Sejong as evidence that wide-area transport networks shape the very structure of population inflows rather than merely adding convenience. That lesson underpins its call to begin wide-area transport investment early, together with relocation decisions.