With traffic congestion on expressways nationwide easing on the night of the 14th, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, roads are expected to be more crowded on the 15th, the second day, as homebound traffic builds. The Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) said congestion would peak around noon on the 15th.
According to the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), about 5 million vehicles are expected to use expressways nationwide on the 15th. Of these, homebound traffic heading from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces is projected at 450,000 vehicles, while return traffic from the provinces into the metropolitan area is expected to be around 380,000 vehicles.
Congestion on expressways in the homebound direction is forecast to begin around 5–6 a.m., peak between noon and 1 p.m., and ease from around 8–9 p.m. In the return direction, congestion is also expected to start around 9–10 a.m., be heaviest around 4–5 p.m., and ease around 8–9 p.m.
On the 14th, the first day of the holiday, 4.85 million vehicles moved nationwide. Severe homebound congestion between 11 a.m. and noon gradually eased in the afternoon and had mostly disappeared around 6–7 p.m.
As of 10 p.m. from tollgate departure, travel times from Seoul to each region were tallied as follows: ▲Busan 4 hours 30 minutes ▲Ulsan 4 hours 10 minutes ▲Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes ▲Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes ▲Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes ▲Daegu 3 hours 30 minutes. That is about two hours shorter than in the morning.
To stabilize livelihoods during the holiday, tolls will be waived for all vehicles using expressways nationwide for four days from the 15th to the 18th. Users can pass as usual by using Hi-Pass lanes or by taking a ticket in general lanes.