South Korean traffic is statistically at its worst between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., a government report showed Friday, with Fridays being the most congested day.
A total of 16,416 cars were on the roads across the country per day in 2025, marking an increase of 0.9 percent compared to the year before, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The road traffic had increased by an annual average of 1.2 percent for the past 10 years, the report said.
The daily road traffic increased for each year since 2016, except for a 1 percent decrease in 2020.
Expressways accounted for 73.6 percent of all daily traffic. Passenger cars accounted for 73.2 percent, followed by trucks (25 percent), and busses (1.8 percent).
It was found that 76.5 percent of daily traffic happened between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., with the 4-5 p.m. having the most cars on the road. Friday was the most congested day of the week in terms of road traffic.
Much of the traffic was concentrated in major expressways across the Greater Seoul area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and accounts for about half of the national population. The section between Nooji Junction and the Seoun Junction on the Capital Region First Ring Expressway the busiest section, with 224,238 vehicles per day.
The Hanam-Toegyewon section of the same expressway, which topped the list in 2024, was the second-busiest with 223,286. The Pangyo-Hanam section of the Gyeongbu Expressway, the longest road in the country connecting Seoul and Busan, was ranked No. 3 with 210,194.
In terms of general national highways, the Seoul-Janghang Interchange section of the Route 77 topped the list with 205,815 vehicles.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
