Expect congestion as tens of thousands storm Seoul for Liberation Day rallies

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency expects heavy traffic in central Seoul due to Liberation Day rallies and events.

Participants chant slogans at the Liberty Unification Party’s “National Resistance Right Gwanghwamun National Rally” near Gwanghwamun Intersection in central Seoul on May 10. [NEWS1]

Large-scale rallies and events on Liberation Day are expected to cause heavy traffic congestion in central Seoul.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on Monday that it will restrict access to parts of downtown, including Sejong-daero, for Liberation Day events and rallies expected to draw tens of thousands of participants.

From Gwanghwamun Rotary to the King Sejong statue, the two innermost lanes will be closed to vehicles until 8 p.m. on Saturday.

From midnight Tuesday to 9 a.m. on Saturday, all lanes in one direction will be closed and the opposite side will operate as a reversible lane for north-south traffic.

All lanes in both directions from Jeokseon Rotary to Gwanghwamun Square and onward to Sejong-ro Rotary on the Liberation Day will be closed from 6 a.m. until midnight Saturday.

The conservative group Ten Million People's Movement Headquarters (translated) will hold a rally on the Liberation Day at Seoul Station in the afternoon and march through the Bank of Korea Rotary to Jongno 3-ga.

Later, the progressive August 15 Pan-National Rally Organizing Committee (translated) will gather at Sungnyemun and march toward Anguk Station. Traffic delays are expected across central Seoul.

The police will deploy more than 350 traffic officers along rally and march routes to manage detours and traffic flow.

“We urge people to use the subway, if possible, and to check traffic information in advance if driving is unavoidable,” a police official said.

Detailed traffic information, including rally times and locations, is available through the Seoul Metropolitan Police's traffic information hotline at 02-700-5000, the Seoul Police Traffic Information website at www.spatic.go.kr, or the KakaoTalk account “Seoul Police Traffic Information.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff. BY MOON SANG-HYEOK [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]