Rain expected to reduce weekend highway traffic in South Korea; Seoul-Busan travel time exceeds 5 hours

South Korea anticipates a slight decrease in highway traffic on Saturday due to widespread rain forecasts. The Korea Expressway Corporation projects a total of 5.38 million vehicles will use the nation's highways throughout the day. Outbound traffic from the Seoul metropolitan area is estimated at 430,000 vehicles, with 450,000 vehicles expected to enter the capital region.

Congestion is expected to begin around 7-8 AM for southbound routes, peaking between 10-11 AM, and easing by 6-7 PM. The Yeongdong and Seoul-Yangyang expressways are anticipated to experience the most significant delays. Northbound traffic will likely see congestion starting between 9-10 AM, reaching its peak in the late afternoon before clearing up by 8-9 PM.

As of 9:10 AM, traffic on the Gyeongbu Expressway southbound showed 3 km of slow-moving vehicles near Namsa and another 3 km near Manghyang Rest Area. Similar delays were reported on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway heading towards Yangyang, with a 10 km stretch of slow traffic near Namyangju. Travel times are considerably longer, with the journey from Seoul to Busan estimated at 5 hours and 20 minutes, and Seoul to Daegu taking 4 hours and 20 minutes.