Some 5.2 million cars were expected to hit the road nationwide Friday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as people head to their hometowns.

Among such cars, some 490,000 vehicles were expected to leave the greater Seoul area for provincial regions, while 370,000 cars were forecast to travel into the city, according to the Korea Expressway Corp.

The agency expected traffic congestion on roads heading to provincial regions to have peaked between 11 a.m. and noon and to ease around 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Traffic congestion on roads heading back to Seoul is expected to have been at its worst between noon and 1 p.m. and to ease between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., it added.

This year's Lunar New Year falls on Saturday, with the holiday being extended to four days due to Monday becoming a temporary holiday. (Yonhap)