Choo Mi-ae: "It took five hours from Yeouido to Hanam on my way home"
Choo Mi-ae, Chairperson of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's snow removal management in connection with the severe traffic disruptions during the evening commute caused by heavy snowfall in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area.
On the 4th, when a heavy snow warning was issued for four metropolitan areas including Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon, vehicles on their way home near Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Seoul, experienced severe traffic congestion due to the snowy roads. Photo by Yonhap News
On December 5, through her Facebook account, Chairperson Choo stated, "It took me five hours to get home to Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, after passing through Olympic-daero from Yeouido yesterday, and I arrived at midnight. I wondered if Gangnam, which overwhelmingly supported Mayor Oh, might have received better snow removal, so I tried to take a detour, but every road was completely blocked and no vehicles could move."
She added, "I can't help but wonder if Mayor Oh is just folding his arms, thinking that not clearing the snow will boost the popularity of the Han River bus."
The previous day, more than 5 centimeters of snow per hour fell in the central region, prompting a heavy snow advisory. The Korea Meteorological Administration sent out this winter’s first disaster alert message, warning that snowfall could cause traffic disruptions in 21 cities, counties, and districts across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, including Pocheon and Uijeongbu.
In particular, as snow fell heavily between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.-the peak evening commute-major traffic disruptions occurred. Although the heavy snow advisory for Seoul was lifted at 8 p.m., numerous traffic accidents occurred throughout the city due to snow accumulating on the roads.
On social networking services (SNS), many posts expressed frustration, such as being told to suddenly get off the bus before their stop, or being stranded because no buses were running. One user lamented, "My usual one-hour commute took more than two hours."
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