Seoul-bound traffic heavy as long Chuseok holiday ends

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 3 p.m., the estimated travel times between toll gates were six hours from Busan to Seoul, five hours and 30 minutes from Ulsan and five hours from Daegu.

Cars crowd the Gyeongbu Expressway at Jamwon IC in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday, the final day of the five-day Chuseok holiday. [YONHAP]

Seoul-bound traffic was heavily congested on Wednesday as the five-day Chuseok holiday drew to a close.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), as of 3 p.m., the estimated travel times between toll gates were six hours from Busan to Seoul, five hours and 30 minutes from Ulsan and five hours from Daegu.

The congestion on Seoul-bound roads began around 5 to 6 a.m. and was expected to peak between 3 and 4 p.m. on the last day of the holiday, the KEC said.

The traffic was projected to ease around 11 p.m., with travel times expected to drop to four hours and 30 minutes from Busan, four hours and 10 minutes from Ulsan and three hours and 30 minutes from Daegu by 9 p.m.

The KEC anticipated that about 5.84 million vehicles would be on the roads nationwide on Wednesday. Of these, around 410,000 were expected to be traveling from the greater Seoul area to rural regions, while 500,000 were headed toward the metropolitan area.

Toll fees were waived during the Chuseok holiday from Sunday through Wednesday. Additionally, bus-only lanes on expressways operated until 1 a.m., extended from the usual 9 p.m.

This year’s Chuseok holiday fell between Monday and Wednesday, spanning five days, including the weekend.

Traffic accidents occurred across the country as people traveled back to their hometowns to visit family during the holiday.

On Saturday morning, a driver in their 60s died after crashing into a five-ton cargo truck on a national highway in Muju County, North Jeolla, according to local media reports.

In a separate incident, at least 22 people were injured when an express bus crashed into a guardrail on the Namhae Expressway in South Jeolla on the same day.

People returning from the Chuseok holiday arrive at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Meanwhile, the expressway operator's data on Wednesday showed that the number of drivers evading toll payments has surged over the past five years.

According to the KEC data shared by Democratic Party Rep. Min Hong-chul, the number of unpaid toll cases rose from 19.2 million in 2019 to 29.9 million in 2023, an increase of 55 percent. The total amount of unpaid tolls surged by 26.3 billion won ($19.8 million) in 2023, a 52 percent increase compared to five years ago.

One individual, the country's top toll evader, skipped toll payments 802 times, owing a total of 5.61 million won.

A significant amount of additional tolls — imposed on drivers who intentionally evade payment, such as by illegally passing through lanes or failing to use electronic toll collection devices — also went unpaid.

From 2019 to 2023, 107.7 billion won in additional tolls was charged for 4.452 million cases.

However, the KEC collected less than half of the amount, totaling just 52.1 billion won. The collection rate for additional tolls dropped sharply from 56 percent in 2019 to 36.7 percent in 2023.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]