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<\/p>\nOn the second day of the holiday, May 2, the Korea Expressway Corporation estimated that 5.81 million vehicles would use highways nationwide and warned of heavy congestion on major routes.<\/p>\n
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The agency said roughly 440,000 vehicles would travel from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces, while about 460,000 would head into the capital region from the provinces.<\/p>\n
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Officials expect severe slowdowns in both directions on key corridors, including the Yeongdong and West Coast expressways.<\/p>\n
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Traffic toward the provinces is expected to begin backing up between 7 and 8 a.m., peak between 11 a.m. and noon, and not ease until around 10\u201311 p.m.<\/p>\n
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Roads heading into Seoul will start slowing between 9 and 10 a.m., reach their worst congestion around 5\u20136 p.m., and are expected to return to normal flow by about 11 p.m. to midnight.<\/p>\n
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As of 9:05 a.m., major congestion points included: on the Gyeongbu Expressway northbound toward Seoul, the Suwon area ~ Suwon 3\u339e (1.9 miles) and Yangjae ~ Banpo 7\u339e (4.3 miles).<\/p>\n
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Southbound toward Busan, traffic was stalled at Singal junction ~ Suwon 3\u339e (1.9 miles); Osan ~ Namsa 6\u339e (3.7 miles); Buk Cheonan ~ Cheonan 10\u339e (6.2 miles); Cheonan junction ~ Independence Hall area 6\u339e (3.7 miles); Oksan rest area ~ Oksan Hi 2\u339e (1.2 miles); and Daejeon tunnel ~ Biryong junction 2\u339e (1.2 miles).<\/p>\n
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On the Yeongdong Expressway toward Gangneung, jams were reported near Banwol Tunnel ~ Dundae junction 2\u339e (1.2 miles); Donggunpo ~ Bugok 2\u339e (1.2 miles); Maseong Tunnel ~ Yangji Tunnel area 9\u339e (5.6 miles); Hobup junction ~ Hobup junction area 3\u339e (1.9 miles); and around Wonju ~ Wonju 3\u339e (1.9 miles).<\/p>\n
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On the West Coast Expressway bound for Mokpo, vehicles repeatedly slowed near Paltan junction ~ Hwaseong rest area 6\u339e (3.7 miles); Balan ~ Balan area 2\u339e (1.2 miles); and Seopyeongtaek junction ~ Seohae Bridge 15\u339e (9.3 miles).<\/p>\n
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On the Jungbu Expressway toward Namyi, congestion was concentrated near the Gyeonggi Gwangju junction area ~ Gyeonggi Gwangju junction area 1\u339e (0.6 miles); Hobup junction ~ Moga area 3\u339e (1.9 miles); Jincheon area ~ Jincheon tunnel area 6\u339e (3.7 miles); and Cheongju Gangseo Hi-pass ~ Namyi junction 3\u339e (1.9 miles).<\/p>\n
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On the Seoul\u2013Yangyang Expressway toward Yangyang, traffic was slow on the Deokso\u2013Sampae ~ Seojong stretch for 15\u339e (9.3 miles).<\/p>\n
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As of 11 a.m. at toll booths, expected travel times on outbound routes are: Seoul\u2013Busan 7 hours 10 minutes; Seoul\u2013Daegu 6 hours 10 minutes; Seoul\u2013Gwangju 4 hours 30 minutes; Seoul\u2013Daejeon 2 hours 50 minutes; Seoul\u2013Gangneung 4 hours 30 minutes; Seoul\u2013Ulsan 6 hours 50 minutes; and Seoul\u2013Mokpo 5 hours 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
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On inbound routes, officials forecast: Busan\u2013Seoul 6 hours; Daegu\u2013Seoul 5 hours; Gwangju\u2013Seoul 3 hours 20 minutes; Daejeon\u2013Seoul 1 hour 40 minutes; Gangneung\u2013Seoul 2 hours 40 minutes; Ulsan\u2013Seoul 5 hours 40 minutes; and Mokpo\u2013Seoul 4 hours.<\/p>\n
On the second day of the holiday, highway traffic is expected to reach 5.81 million, leading to severe congestion on major routes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0235\/thumb-5fb9c458-8eb2-4d7c-935d-ea4ee3aef851.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278099],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility"],"yoast_head":"\n