The Road Home is Most Congested on the Morning of the 21st, Return Traffic Heaviest on the Afternoons of the 22nd and 23rd

5.3 Million People Travel in Short Holiday
Toll Fees Waived for All Vehicles for 4 Days
Bus-Only Lane Extended by 4 Hours

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] Toll fees on nationwide expressways will be waived for four days from the 21st to the 24th during the Lunar New Year holiday period. This year, an average of 5.3 million people are expected to travel daily, with over 90% using passenger cars, leading to severe congestion on expressways. Traffic jams are anticipated to be concentrated on the morning of the 21st, when people head to their hometowns, and on the 23rd, when they return home.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has designated the five days from the 20th to the 24th as the "Lunar New Year Holiday Special Traffic Measures Period" and plans to implement a "Government Joint Special Traffic Plan" in cooperation with related agencies.

Ahead of the Lunar New Year, children from a nearby daycare center visiting Hanaro Mart in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on the 16th are playing 'Tuho' in the folk game area prepared by the mart. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

According to the Korea Transport Institute, a total of 26.48 million people, averaging 5.3 million per day, are expected to travel during this special traffic measures period, with 91.7% predicted to use passenger cars.

Due to the recovery of daily life, the average daily number of travelers is expected to increase by 22.7% compared to last year's Lunar New Year (4.32 million), and the total number of travelers is expected to increase by 2.1% compared to last year's Lunar New Year (25.94 million), despite the shorter holiday period.

Homebound travel is expected to be concentrated on the morning of the 21st, the day before Lunar New Year, and return travel on the afternoon of the 23rd, the day after Lunar New Year. Traffic congestion is expected to be severe on the 22nd and 23rd, when homebound, return, and travelers all gather simultaneously.

This Lunar New Year, the homebound period is short, so travel time to hometowns is expected to be longer than the return trip. When using passenger cars, the maximum travel times on expressways are expected to be: Seoul to Daejeon - 5 hours, Seoul to Busan - 8 hours 40 minutes, Seoul to Gwangju - 7 hours 40 minutes, Seoul to Mokpo - 8 hours 30 minutes, and Seoul to Gangneung - 5 hours 20 minutes.

Return trips are expected to take approximately: Daejeon to Seoul - 4 hours 15 minutes, Busan to Seoul - 8 hours 15 minutes, Gwangju to Seoul - 6 hours 35 minutes, Mokpo to Seoul - 6 hours 55 minutes, and Gangneung to Seoul - 4 hours 30 minutes.

In preparation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to expand temporary restrooms to 703 units at expressway rest areas and drowsy driving rest spots, thoroughly disinfect and ventilate them, and deploy additional support personnel. Additionally, in response to the spread of COVID-19 in China, international flights from China, Hong Kong, and Macau will restrict boarding for those who have not entered their quarantine information in the Q-code system or do not possess a negative test certificate.

To disperse traffic volume, the 3.5 km section from Dongi to Okcheon on the Gyeongbu Expressway will be expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes and opened, and the 9.7 km section from Namgwangsan Interchange (IC) to Namjangseong Junction (JCT) on the Gwangju Outer Ring Expressway will be newly constructed and opened. For national roads, three sections totaling 21.5 km, including Daedeok to Yongsan on National Road 23, will be newly constructed and opened, and seven sections totaling 22.55 km, including Yeongdong to Boeun on National Road 19, will be temporarily opened.

In addition to the 47 sections (255.9 km) of expressway shoulder lanes operated during normal times, an additional 24 sections (59.6 km) of temporary shoulder lanes exclusively for passenger cars will be operated. Furthermore, on the Gyeongbu Expressway from the south end of Hannam Bridge to Sintanjin (141 km) and on the Yeongdong Expressway from Singal Junction to Hobeop (26.9 km) in both directions, the bus-only lane system will be extended by 4 hours compared to normal operation from the 20th to the 24th, the day before and during the holiday.

As with last Chuseok, expressway tolls will be waived for four days during this Lunar New Year. Accordingly, all vehicles using expressways managed by the Korea Expressway Corporation and 21 private expressways, including the Incheon Airport Expressway, will be exempt from tolls from 00:00 on the 21st to 24:00 on the 24th.

Additionally, in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, to facilitate the return of citizens using late-night trains and buses, the last train and bus times for Seoul city buses, Seoul, Incheon, and Airport Railways will be extended on the 22nd and 23rd. Some local governments such as Busan, Gwangju, and Ulsan also plan to extend the last bus times for city buses.

Buses, railways, airplanes, and coastal passenger ships will also increase services. Express buses will add 204 reserve vehicles (including joint operation agreement vehicles), increasing daily trips by 612 compared to normal times, supplying an additional 140,000 seats. Intercity buses have secured 591 reserve vehicles to be deployed immediately if needed.

Railways will increase 130 trips, supplying an additional 118,000 seats daily, which is 24,000 more than usual. In particular, KTX will add 77,000 seats and SRT will add 23,000 seats. Additionally, domestic flights will increase by 101 flights, supplying an additional 15,000 seats daily, 3,000 more than usual. Coastal passenger ships will increase by 330 trips, expanding capacity to accommodate 120,000 more passengers than usual.