With this year's Chuseok holiday longer than usual, more than 30 million people are expected to travel domestically and overseas. Among them, the largest number, 9.33 million, are expected to travel on Oct. 6, the day of Chuseok.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 29th that it has designated the 11 days from the 2nd to the 12th of next month as a special transportation countermeasure period for the Chuseok holiday to support safe and convenient homebound and return travel. According to a survey by The Korea Transport Institute (KOTI), a total of 32.18 million people are expected to travel during this period for homebound and return trips and vacations. That is an 8.2% increase from last year's Chuseok, when the period was six days.
About 4 in 10 people are planning domestic or overseas travel during the Chuseok holiday. Domestic trips account for 89.5%, and overseas for 10.5%.
Most people are expected to travel by passenger car (84.5%). As homebound traffic is dispersed, the average daily traffic volume on expressways is projected to be 5.42 million vehicles, down 2.4% from last year. However, on Chuseok day, when the maximum traffic (6.67 million vehicles) is expected, homebound and return travelers and people visiting ancestral graves will crowd the roads, pushing the volume up 2.3% from last year (6.52 million vehicles).
As special transportation measures for the holiday, the ministry will focus on improving traffic flow, expanding travel convenience and services, ensuring traffic safety, adding public transit runs, and establishing response posture for inclement weather. It selected 274 sections (2,186 km) of expressways and national highways expected to be congested and will intensively manage them through detour guidance, while operating 69 sections (294 km) of shoulder lanes on expressways.
It will also newly open 13 sections (90 km) of national highways and extend by four hours the operation of the bus-only lane on the Gyeongbu Line between Yangjae and Sintanjin compared with normal hours (Oct. 4–9, 9 p.m. → 1 a.m. the following day).
For the four days around Chuseok (Oct. 4–7), expressway tolls will be waived and additional drowsy driving rest areas and service areas will be operated. KTX and SRT return-trip fares will be discounted, and ticket vending machines for people with limited mobility will be installed on a trial basis.
To alleviate airport congestion, departure halls will open up to 60 minutes earlier, and real-time wait conditions will be disclosed on major portals. Temporary parking lots will also be secured at airports and passenger ship terminals.
In anticipation of increased demand, the number of bus and rail runs and seats will be increased by 15.2% (36,687 runs) and 11.9% (2,084,000 seats), respectively, compared with normal.
Advance safety inspections of transportation facilities and modes, including roads, railways, aviation, and shipping, will also be strengthened.
Eom Jeong-hee, director general for transport and logistics at the ministry, said, "Please obey traffic laws and drive safely for a safe and convenient homebound and return journey for everyone," adding, "If you are driving a passenger car, please check traffic information before you depart, and while on the move, check the real-time traffic safety information provided via road message boards."