On the 3rd, the first day of the Chuseok holiday and National Foundation Day, highways nationwide were congested with homebound traffic from the morning, but by evening most sections had returned to smooth flow.
As of 8:30 p.m. that day, some major sections still had slow-moving traffic. On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Busan, traffic was slow for 2 km from Jukam to near Sintanjin, and on the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway toward Changwon, there was some congestion for about 5 km from Jinnam Tunnel to near Mungyeong and about 6 km from Seonsan to near the Gimcheon Junction. However, most other expressways had cleared.
Based on the expected departure times at tollgates as of 9 p.m., if traveling by passenger car from Seoul to regional cities, it will take ▲ Busan about 4 hours 30 minutes ▲ Ulsan 4 hours 20 minutes ▲ Daegu and Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲ Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲ Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes. From West Seoul to Mokpo, it will take about 3 hours 50 minutes.
In the opposite direction, heading from regional cities to Seoul, it will take ▲ Busan 4 hours 30 minutes ▲ Ulsan 4 hours 20 minutes ▲ Daegu and Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲ Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲ Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes ▲ and from Mokpo to West Seoul about 3 hours 46 minutes.
According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, nationwide expressway traffic for the day was estimated at about 5.24 million vehicles. Of these, about 440,000 vehicles headed from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces, and about 430,000 vehicles entered the metropolitan area from the provinces.
On outbound expressways toward the provinces, congestion began early at 5–6 a.m. and was heaviest between 11 a.m. and noon. However, most congestion eased around 7–8 p.m. Expressways toward Seoul had a relatively smooth flow throughout the day.