The Impacts of Relational Population Influx on Local Economies in Depopulation Areas

South Korea has recently shown growing interest in the idea of “relational population,” which was originally introduced in Japan. This concept is seen as a possible solution to the issue of regional depopulation, which is caused by a reduction in the overall population and the concentration of people in the capital region. Although numerous studies have concentrated on constructing related populations, it may be premature to generate such populations without solid evidence of their efficacy. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine the influence of the relational population on the economic conditions of areas experiencing a decline in population, employing multiple regression analysis. The findings suggest that the presence of producer-oriented relational population has a beneficial impact on the per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), which is a crucial measure of the local economy. However, it was discovered that the presence of a consumer-oriented relational population has a favorable impact on tourism spending. These findings establish a basis for improving the efficiency of programs designed to avoid the disappearance of local municipalities by utilizing the interconnections between populations. Furthermore, they provide valuable perspectives for formulating efficient approaches to harnessing relational population.