Overview
- The expressway operator said Saturday that roads were congested as millions returned from hometowns, with about 5.9 million vehicles expected nationwide and trips to Seoul from Busan estimated at roughly 7 hours and 50 minutes as of 1 p.m.
- KEC forecast the heaviest inbound traffic between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday and predicted congestion would ease between about 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday.
- Earlier in the holiday, outbound flows from the greater Seoul area produced very long morning delays, including estimates of about 9 hours and 30 minutes from Seoul to Busan on Thursday and about 8 hours and 40 minutes on Friday morning.
- Bottlenecks were concentrated on major corridors such as the Gyeongbu Expressway and other routes radiating from Seoul, where multi‑kilometer slowdowns were reported during peak outbound and inbound windows.
- Motorists are advised to consult KEC's rolling travel‑time forecasts and to avoid the forecast peak hours if possible because the traffic pattern has shown a predictable daily shift from heavy outbound mornings to heavy inbound late afternoons.