(ATTN: REWRITES lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- Major roads and expressways were congested across South Korea on Saturday, the third day of the Chuseok holiday, as people headed home after family reunions in their hometowns.
As of 1 p.m., travel times to Seoul from the southeastern city of Busan were estimated at seven hours and 50 minutes, six hours and 50 minutes from Mokpo, six hours and 50 minutes from Daegju, and six hours and 30 minutes from the southwestern city of Gwangju, according to the Korea Expressway Corp.
This year's holiday for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, runs from Thursday to Sunday. The holiday is marked by visits to hometowns, family reunions, ancestral rites and traditional holiday foods.
Expressways heading to Seoul began being clogged early Saturday, but traffic in the opposition direction somewhat eased.
As of 1 p.m., trips from Seoul to Busan were estimated to take five hours and 30 minutes, and three hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju.
The state-run company said congestion was expected to peak between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and ease between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday.
An estimated 5.9 million vehicles were expected to travel on roads nationwide Saturday, including about 380,000 leaving the greater Seoul area and 520,000 heading toward the capital area from other regions.
A highway in Seoul is congested on Sept. 25, 2026, the second day of the Chuseok holiday. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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