Traffic heavy on expressways following Chuseok

Traffic was backing up heavily on many expressways across the country Saturday as people traveled back home on the third day of the extended six-day Chuseok holiday.

This year's Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest celebration, fell on Friday, and the holiday runs from Thursday through Tuesday when the country marks National Foundation Day.

According to Korea Expressway Corp., major highways, particularly Seoul-bound ones, were jammed with vehicles.

As of 2 p.m., the estimated travel time to Seoul was 6 hours and 50 minutes from the southern port city of Busan, about 5 hours and 14 minutes from the southeastern city of Daegu, and 3 hours and 20 minutes from the central city of Daejeon.

The road congestion is likely to peak at around 4-5 p.m. and to ease at around 1 to 2 a.m. Sunday.

Some 5.42 million vehicles were expected to hit the road on their way back home on Sunday alone, the agency said. (Yonhap)