Heavy traffic congestion continued on highways heading to Seoul on January 18, the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as travelers made their return journey home.
According to Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8 a.m., the maximum estimated travel times from major city toll gates to Seoul toll gate were: Busan 5 hours 20 minutes, Ulsan 5 hours, Daegu 4 hours 20 minutes, Mokpo 3 hours 50 minutes, Gwangju 3 hours 40 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes, and Daejeon 2 hours 20 minutes.
In the opposite direction, travel times from Seoul to each city were: Busan 4 hours 30 minutes, Ulsan 4 hours 10 minutes, Daegu 3 hours 20 minutes, Mokpo 3 hours 40 minutes, Gwangju 3 hours 20 minutes, Gangneung 2 hours 40 minutes, and Daejeon 1 hour 30 minutes.
The corporation forecast that Seoul-bound congestion would peak between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and clear by 11 p.m. to midnight. Traffic heading away from Seoul was expected to flow smoothly.
An estimated 4.85 million vehicles were projected to travel nationwide on the day, down more than 1 million from the previous day's 6.15 million. Approximately 490,000 vehicles were expected to move from provincial areas to the Seoul metropolitan area, while 350,000 were forecast to travel in the opposite direction.