Highway traffic slowed to a near halt across the nation beginning Tuesday as hords of vacationers hit the road heading North to the city, before the end of the five-day long Korean thanksgiving holiday on Wednesday.
In contrast with the smooth exodus of cars leaving Seoul over a stretch of a couple of days, the way heading back home is showing signs of heavy congestion.
The Korea Highway Corporation said it took drivers on Tuesday over 11-and-a-half hours for the usual five-hour route from the country's southernmost port city of Busan to Seoul.
The authorities said as of Wednesday morning, some 1.4 million has reached Seoul, out of the 1.6 million which left the capital for the holiday.
Increased traffic also claimed lives in deadly car accidents in Damyang, South Jeolla province and Eumseong, North Chungcheong province.