Last year, Korea's regional economy clearly split along the presence or absence of a semiconductor industry. North Chungcheong, home to SK hynix factories, posted the nation's highest growth rate, while Jeju, South Jeolla, and Daegu, which took a direct hit from a slump in construction, backpedaled.
According to the "real gross regional domestic product (preliminary) for the fourth quarter and annual 2025," released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) on the 30th, North Chungcheong's real GRDP growth rate last year was 4.4%, the highest among the nation's 17 metropolitan governments. A 7.6% expansion in mining and manufacturing, driven by a surge in semiconductor and electronic components and electrical equipment output, was decisive.
Seoul (2.3%) and Gyeonggi (2.0%) also ranked near the top. In Seoul, services (3.0%) led growth, while in Gyeonggi, mining and manufacturing (4.9%) drove the gains. Ulsan, North Gyeongsang, Busan, North Jeolla, Gwangju, and Sejong inched up.
By contrast, regions with weak semiconductor and manufacturing bases and heavy reliance on construction could not avoid the cold snap. Jeju (-2.0%) logged the nation's lowest as services (-2.1%) and construction (-16.5%) shrank in tandem. South Jeolla (-1.8%) and Daegu (-1.3%) also contracted, with construction plunging 17.9% in each. South Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong, Gangwon, Incheon, and Daejeon also stayed in the red.
The construction slump was not confined to certain regions. The construction growth rate came to -9.3% on the national average. A Ministry of Data and Statistics official said, "Construction across the country acted as a downward factor," and noted, "Cheongju in North Chungcheong and Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, Yongin, and Giheung in Gyeonggi stood out on the back of semiconductor tailwinds."
Nationwide, however, economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter from the third. The national GRDP growth rate edged down from 1.9% to 1.6%, with mining and manufacturing growth falling from 3.5% in the third quarter to 1.7% in the fourth. A major factor was Gyeonggi's mining and manufacturing growth plunging from 9.4% to 2.2%.
North Chungcheong, by contrast, saw mining and manufacturing growth rise to 8.5% in the fourth quarter from 5.7% in the third, and Incheon's mining and manufacturing growth climbed from -4.4% in the third quarter to 5.5% in the fourth. Regions in contraction by fourth-quarter GRDP were seven: Gangwon, South Gyeongsang, Daejeon, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, Sejong, and Jeju.