[매경 DB]The autonomous district with the highest ratio of imported cars in Seoul changed its ranking from Gangnam-gu to Jung-gu. In Jung-gu, 4 out of 10 vehicles were imported. This is because the proportion of imported cars in Jung-gu, the central business and commercial district, has jumped as the high-priced imported cars owned by corporations surged.
According to ‘Imported Vehicle Registration Status by Seoul City’ received by National Assembly Legislative Investigation Office and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 11th, Rep. Tae Young-ho of People’s Power, 23,578 imported cars were registered in Jung-gu as of last year. This nearly doubled from the previous year (12,920 units in 2020), accounting for 39% of the total registered cars (61,158 units) in Jung-gu. This is the highest figure among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, and Gangnam-gu dominated the first five years (2016-2020).
Jung-gu is also the autonomous district where the number of imported car registrations increased the most last year. It is three times as many as the second-placed Gangnam-gu (3474 units). Accordingly, the proportion of imported cars also jumped from 25% to 39%.
Although Jung-gu is an autonomous district with the smallest area and population in Seoul, it is a traditional business and commercial center, so there are many imported cars registered under the name of a corporation.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the number of registered imported cars worth 100 million won or more last year was 65,148, up 51% from the previous year. Of these, 42,627 vehicles, or 65%, were registered by corporations.
Following Jung-gu, Gangnam-gu (37%), Yongsan-gu (36%), and Seocho-gu (35%) had the highest proportion of imported cars. The autonomous districts with the lowest ratio of imported cars were Gangbuk-gu, Dobong-gu, and Geumcheon-gu, all accounting for 10%.
Meanwhile, Gangnam-gu had the largest number of imported cars.
In Gangnam-gu, 88,753 out of 239,643 were imported cars. Seocho-gu (61,370 units) and Songpa-gu (55,697 units) followed.
The autonomous districts with less than 10,000 imported cars were Gangbuk-gu (7553), Dobong-gu (9228), and Geumcheon-gu (9218).
The proportion of imported cars in Seoul has been steadily increasing over the past six years. It increased from 13% in 2016 to 17% in 2019 and to 19% in 2021.
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