Gyeonggi Province's GRDP Ranked 2nd Nationally Over Past 7 Years

In response to some National Assembly members' claims that "Gyeonggi Province's GRDP is the lowest," the province has stepped forward to actively clarify the matter.

An official from Gyeonggi Province's Economic Policy Division stated, "In 2012, Gyeonggi Province's GRDP growth rate ranked 11th among the nation's 16 cities and provinces," and explained, "This is a temporary phenomenon due to economic downturn. Over the past seven years since 2006, Gyeonggi Province has shown an average annual growth rate of 5.5%, ranking 2nd nationwide in GRDP growth rate, following Chungcheongnam-do (8.0%)."

The Bank of Korea's Gyeonggi Regional Office released a report on the 24th of last month titled "Comparison of Major Economic Indicators between Gyeonggi Province and Other 15 Metropolitans and Provinces," diagnosing that Gyeonggi Province's 2012 GRDP growth rate decline was due to the province's large GRDP scale reaching 251 trillion won.

In response, Gyeonggi Province stated that the impact of nationwide economic recession dealt the heaviest blow to Gyeonggi Province, which has the largest GRDP scale. It explained that this was particularly because negative growth in the construction sector intensified within the province and the manufacturing growth rate declined significantly.

In contrast, Jeju Province, with a GRDP scale of only 12 trillion won, benefited from increased investment by Chinese investors and others, recording a GRDP increase of only 900 billion won compared to the previous year but achieving a growth rate of 5.6%, the highest in the nation.

Gyeonggi Province's GRDP increased by 7.9 trillion won compared to the previous year, but the growth rate was only 1.8%.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province recorded GRDP growth rates of 7.7% in 2006, 6.1% in 2007, 4.2% in 2008, 1.0% in 2009, 11.8% in 2010, 6.1% in 2011, and 1.8% in 2012, posting an average GRDP growth rate of 5.5% over the past seven years. During the same period, the nation's average GRDP growth rate was 3.8%.

At a Gyeonggi Province-National Assembly Members' Policy Consultation Meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Hall on the 10th, some National Assembly members stated, "Gyeonggi Province's GRDP is the lowest."