South Korea was gripped by a cold wave and heavy snow Saturday, with lower temperatures and more snow expected over the weekend, the state weather agency said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued heavy snow warnings for the country's central and western areas. As of 10 a.m., the interior ministry had upgraded its snow alert level to "caution" from "interest."

As of 7 p.m., the southwestern city of Gwangju and Jangseong County in South Jeolla Province had received 7.94 cementers and 4.54 cm of snow, respectively.

More than 20 cm of snow is expected to fall in North Jeolla Province until Sunday. Gwangju and southwestern parts of South Jeolla Province are forecast to receive more than 15 cm of snow, according to the KMA.

The weather agency said 1-3 cm of snow is expected in Seoul, Incheon, west of the capital, and the southern island of Jeju.

A cold wave advisory also took effect in areas including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon and Daegu at 9 p.m. Saturday.

The advisory is issued when the morning low comes below minus 12 C for more than two consecutive days or when the temperature drops more than 10 C to below minus 3 C.

Heavy snow and the cold wave caused passenger ship and flight cancellations across the nation, according to the government.

As of 6 p.m., 107 passenger liners on 85 routes and 14 flights had been cancelled, according to the central government's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

Public access to 247 sites at 13 national parks, including ones in Mount Mudeung and Mount Jiri, were restricted.

Snow froze on roads, causing car accidents in some regions.

At around 7:47 a.m., five vehicles rear-ended near and another four cars were in similar pile-up accident near the Sangnam 6 Tunnel along the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway. Seven people were said to have suffered mild and serious injuries.

At around 3:30 p.m. 15 vehicles rear-ended on a road in Anseong, 64 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Strong winds and the cold wave caused power blackouts in an apartment complex in Uijeongbu, 22 km northeast of Seoul, and a movie theater in Cheongju, 112 km southeast of Seoul.

The KMA said the temperature is likely to further drop on Sunday, with morning lows reaching between minus 4 and 17 C across the country. Morning lows were expected to be minus 12 C in Seoul, minus 16 C in the border city of Paju and minus 17 C in Cheorwon County of Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)