As a heavy snowfall hit Seoul, roads iced over and nearly 2,000 calls to 112 were filed, causing ongoing inconvenience for residents.
On Jan. 5, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said a total of 1,981 related reports were received from 6 p.m. on the 4th to 5 a.m. that day.
Of these, 442 were traffic inconvenience reports (166 traffic accidents), and 1,444 were safety-related reports such as hazard prevention. There were 95 other consultation calls.
Commuters experienced difficulties in the morning rush. As more people used public transportation such as buses and subways instead of their own cars, stations and bus stops were crowded.
Accidents also occurred as roads froze. At about 10:25 p.m. the previous day, a four-car pileup occurred near the exit toward Yangjae at Seocho Tunnel due to icy conditions.
At about 5:24 a.m. that day, 12 vehicles collided near Mokdonggyo on National Assembly-daero toward the National Assembly. According to fire authorities, two people were taken to a hospital in that crash. At about 5:51 a.m. on Nodeul-ro in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, a passenger car and others hit a Starex that had stopped by the guardrail (protective barrier), causing a six-car pileup that sent the Starex driver to a nearby hospital.
At one point, due to the heavy snowfall the previous day, 29 sections of expressways in downtown Seoul and nine city roads were closed. At about 7:57 a.m. that day, the closure of the Dongbu Arterial Road section from Surakgo to Sangdo Underground was lifted, and now all road closures in Seoul due to icy conditions have been lifted.