Gumi was called Ilseon-gun at the beginning of the Silla dynasty, and was promoted to Ilseon-ju during the 36th year of King Jinpyeongwang's reign (614). It was renamed as Sungseon-gun during the 16th year of King Gyeongdeok's reign (757), and was renamed again as Seonju during the Goryeo dynasty.

Since the 13th year of King Taejong's reign of Joseon (1413), Gumi had been called Seonsan-gun, until Gumi-eup in Seonsan-gun was promoted to Gumi-si, separating itself from Seonsan-gun. On January 1, 1995, the country's largest inland, high-tech industrial city of Gumi and the advanced agricultural area of Seonsan-gun merged to form an urban-rural Gumi City.