Large-scale rallies that shut down major roads in central Seoul for extended periods generate tens of billions of won in traffic congestion costs, according to a new study.
A rally held in the Sejong-daero area of Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 15 last year caused approximately 8.32 billion won ($6 million) in traffic congestion costs, according to research on "Estimation of Traffic Congestion Charges by Rally Type" led by Professor Byun Ji-hye of the Department of Transportation Engineering at the University of Seoul, released Monday.
On that day, the "National Rally Opposing the Impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol," organized by the National Movement to Set Korea Right led by Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church, was held in the area. A 1-kilometer stretch of Sejong-daero from Donghwa Duty Free in Jongno-gu to Daehanmun was fully closed from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The research team said it calculated the increase in vehicle travel time caused by the road closure and derived the traffic congestion cost by factoring in time losses and additional fuel expenses. The study was presented at the Korean Society of Transportation's academic conference in September last year.
The team found that 3,169,081 vehicles were affected by the rally, with an average delay of 5.27 minutes per vehicle.
In a separate case on February 20 of the same month, the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) occupied the sidewalks and three lanes of a six-lane road near the National Assembly Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, holding a rally for two hours from 3 p.m. The resulting traffic congestion cost was estimated at approximately 1.26 billion won ($910,000).
The research team recommended imposing traffic congestion charges on large-scale rallies. "There is a need to impose traffic congestion charges differently, taking into account the level of lane control and whether a march is conducted," the team said.
The idea of making event organizers bear traffic congestion costs from rallies or events has been considered before. In 2000, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, "Inconvenience to citizens is growing due to traffic controls caused by various rallies and events held downtown," adding that it was "reviewing a plan to impose congestion charges on rally or event organizers based on the calculated social and economic losses."
At the time, civic groups and legal experts strongly criticized the plan as an administratively convenient idea that directly infringed on the "freedom of assembly and association" guaranteed by the Constitution.
Hwang Hee-joo, head of the Citizens' Cultural Development Association, said at the time, "This will generate even greater side effects and backlash than when civic groups strongly protested the recent ban on rallies near foreign embassies."
