Traffic congestion began on the return trip on the morning of the 25th, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8 a.m., the estimated travel times for passenger cars departing from the Seoul toll gate to major cities nationwide are ▲Busan 5 hours and 30 minutes ▲Ulsan 5 hours ▲Mokpo 4 hours and 10 minutes ▲Daegu 4 hours and 30 minutes ▲Gwangju 4 hours and 10 minutes ▲Gangneung 3 hours ▲Daejeon 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Conversely, the expected travel times from each city to Seoul are ▲Busan 4 hours and 50 minutes ▲Ulsan 4 hours and 20 minutes ▲Mokpo 3 hours and 40 minutes ▲Daegu 3 hours and 50 minutes ▲Gwangju 3 hours and 20 minutes ▲Gangneung 2 hours and 40 minutes ▲Daejeon 1 hour and 31 minutes.
As of 8 a.m., congestion is occurring on the Gyeongbu Expressway in the section from Manghyang Rest Area to Mokcheon toward Busan. There is also reduced traffic movement near Geumcheon on the Mokpo direction of the West Coast Line and close to Pal-tan Junction to Hwaseong Rest Area, as well as in the section from Hobak Junction to Moga and from Daeso Junction to Jincheon in the South Central Line toward Nami.
Traffic flow is also not smooth in areas such as Yongin to Yangji Tunnel and from Maseong Tunnel to Yongin on the Yeongdong Line toward Gangneung, as well as from Hwado Junction to Seo-jong on the Seoul-Yangyang Line and near Yeoju Junction on the South Central Inland Line toward Changwon.
It is expected that 5.05 million vehicles will move nationwide that day, with 460,000 vehicles moving from the metropolitan area to the provinces and 360,000 from the provinces to the metropolitan area. The corporation anticipates that congestion toward the return trip will be most severe between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. and will ease between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.