The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said it lifted the heavy snow warning at 9:40 a.m., some three hours after it first issued the notice.

It said Seoul saw a record 8.8 centimeters of snow as of 10:00 a.m., outnumbering the earlier record of 4.5 cm tallied in 1990.

The KMA started to compile related data in 1981.

"The snow has nearly stopped in Seoul now as the clouds with thick snow have moved away to the east," the KMA said.

The heavy snowfall also covered the metropolitan area around the capital city.

Some 1.9 cm of snow had piled up in Suwon, south of Seoul, as of 9:00 a.m., while Incheon, the western port city, saw 1.2 cm of

snow, according to the KMA. (Yonhap)