Heavy snow blankets S. Korea during Seollal holiday

South Korea is seeing heavy snow this Seollal holiday, causing even more traffic congestion and road accidents.

Our Lee Soo-jin has the details.

Heavy snow is blanketing South Korea this Seollal holiday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration on Tuesday issued a heavy snow warning for the city of Suwon as well as eight other areas in Gyeonggi-do Province, an area that borders the capital city Seoul.

Heavy snow warnings had already been issued for six areas within the province.

A heavy snow warning is issued when snowfall is forecast to exceed 20 centimeters over a 24-hour period.

But it's not just Gyeonggi-do Province that is seeing large amounts of snow.

On Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island, snow has reached a whopping 120 centimeters, the height of a young child.

And in the county of Muju-gun in Jeollabuk-do Province situated in the central-southern part of the country, snow has surpassed 80 centimeters.

Certain districts in Seoul, meanwhile, have also seen almost 14 centimeters of snowfall.

Not only is the snow expected to persist, but the subzero temperatures are likely to cause it to freeze.

As of 8AM,.. temperatures in Seoul fell to minus 4-point-4 degrees Celsius while even the southeastern coastal city of Busan saw temperatures fall below zero.

The heavy snow is also causing traffic delays on highways across the nation, particularly as tomorrow is the actual day of Seollal.

It usually takes around five hours to drive from Seoul to Busan, but according to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 8 AM, the estimated journey time for that route is 7 hours and 20 minutes.

The agency also said that peak traffic congestion is expected at around 12 PM and 1 PM with conditions easing around 8 PM or 9 PM. It urged drivers to drive cautiously due to the slippery roads.

The Korea Railroad Corporation, announced that KTX trains on certain lines will be operating at reduced speeds for safety on Tuesday.

Since Monday, numerous road accidents have occurred due to the snow.

At around 9 PM, a van fell off the roadside in Yeongwol County in Gangwon-do Province, and earlier during the day, there was an 11-vehicle collision on an expressway heading towards the city of Gangneung ,.. injuring nine people who had to be transported to hospital.

Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.