With the stream of people returning home continuing on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday on the 18th, congestion is building in several spots on highways toward Seoul.
According to Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), as of 8 a.m. the maximum estimated travel times from each city tollgate to the Seoul Tollgate are 5 hours 20 minutes from Busan, 5 hours from Ulsan, 4 hours 20 minutes from Daegu, 3 hours 50 minutes from Mokpo, 3 hours 40 minutes from Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes from Gangneung, and 2 hours 20 minutes from Daejeon. In the opposite direction, from Seoul to each city, the estimates are 4 hours 30 minutes to Busan, 4 hours 10 minutes to Ulsan, 3 hours 20 minutes to Daegu, 3 hours 40 minutes to Mokpo, 3 hours 20 minutes to Gwangju, 2 hours 40 minutes to Gangneung, and 1 hour 30 minutes to Daejeon.
On the Gyeongbu Expressway toward Seoul, traffic has been backing up since about 7:23 a.m., with vehicles increasing over the 2 km section from near Oksan Hi to Oksan Hi.
On the Seohaean Expressway toward Seoul, vehicles are repeatedly stopping and going over a 4 km section from Gunsan Service Area to Dongsuh Seocheon Junction.
On the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway toward Yangpyeong, traffic is sluggish in several sections, including 2 km from near Mungyeongsaejae to near Mungyeong 2 Tunnel, 4 km from near Mungyeong 2 Tunnel to Mungyeongsaejae Tunnel, and 3 km from Seonsan Service Area to near Sangju Tunnel.
In addition, some sections toward the capital are moving slowly at 40–80 kph, but overall traffic is still relatively smooth. In the home-bound direction, most vehicles are moving without significant delays.
The expressway corporation predicted congestion toward the capital would peak around 3–4 p.m. and ease around 11 p.m.–midnight. The home-bound direction was expected to be generally smooth.
Traffic nationwide was projected at 4.85 million vehicles for the day, down by more than 1 million from 6.15 million the previous day.
Of these, about 490,000 vehicles are expected to move from the provinces to the greater Seoul area, and about 350,000 from the greater Seoul area to the provinces.