Ulsan leads Korea in per capita GDP for 3rd straight year

Ulsan leads Korea in per capita GDP for 3rd straight year. December. 25, 2012 01:42. tnf@donga.com.

The southern coastal city of Ulsan had the biggest per capita GDP in the country for the third straight year.

North Gyeongsang Province was the sole region to post negative growth among 16 cities and provinces, as its flagship industries of agriculture, forestry and fisheries were hit by typhoons.

According to Statistics Korea`s regional income statistics for 2011 released Monday, Ulsan`s per capita GDP last year was the nation`s highest at 18.54 million won (17,270 U.S. dollars). Seoul was next with 16.84 million won (15,687 dollars) and Busan third with 14.84 million won (13,823 dollars).

Ulsan stayed No. 1 for the third year after topping Seoul in 2009. The gap between Ulsan and the capital widened five-fold from 340,000 won (317 dollars) in 2010 to 1.7 million won (15,873 dollars) last year.

A Statistics Korea source said, "Ulsan has smaller land size and population than Seoul, but is where major manufacturers of ships and cars are concentrated. Per capita income and output are both high."

South Jeolla Province had the lowest per capita income at 12.26 million won (11,420 dollars), followed by Gangwon Province at 12.53 million won (11,672 dollars), and South Chungcheong Province at 12.74 million won (11,867 dollars). All three provinces had figures below the national average of 14.47 million won (13,479 dollars).

Real GDP of the 16 cities and provinces overall last year grew 3 percent from the previous year, driven by manufacturing, real estate and leasing. In particular, Ulsan (8.4 percent), South Chungcheong (4.8 percent) and North Jeolla (4.7 percent) saw big gains. North Gyeongsang saw its GDP decline 0.8 percent. Typhoon Muipa that hit in August last year led to a 6.9-percent drop in agricultural, forestry and fisheries production.

The concentration of economic power in the Seoul metropolitan area eased slightly. Nominal GDP in Seoul was 284 trillion won (264.5 billion dollars) last year to lead the country, followed by Gyeonggi Province at 243 trillion won (226.4 billion dollars) and South Gyeongsang at 86 trillion won. The share of Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon, however, fell from 47.8 percent in 2010 to 47.1 percent last year.