SEOUL — On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, traffic on South Korea's major highways saw a significant ease as individuals returning from family visits began their journeys home. The Korea Expressway Corp., a state-run entity, provided updates on travel times indicating an improvement in traffic flow compared to previous days. A trip from Busan to Seoul, covering a distance of 320 kilometers, was expected to take approximately five hours at 5 p.m., while the journey from Gwangju to Seoul, spanning 267 kilometers, was projected at three hours and 30 minutes. Conversely, travel times from Seoul to Busan and Gwangju were estimated at 4 hours and 30 minutes, and 3 hours and 30 minutes, respectively.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the day saw an estimated 4.2 million vehicles on the road, a decrease of 950,000 from the day before, indicating a smoother flow of traffic as the holiday period concluded.