Traffic levels on major highways eased Monday as people who visited their families during the Lunar New Year holiday returned home on the final day of the four-day holiday.

A drive from Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to the capital was expected to take about five hours as of 5 p.m., while driving from Gwangju, 267 km south of the capital, to Seoul was expected to take three hours and 30 minutes, according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp.

The drive in the opposite direction from Seoul to Busan was estimated to take 4 hours and 30 minutes and from the capital to Gwangju to take 3 hours and 30 minutes.

It estimated 4.2 million cars would hit the road Monday, 950,000 vehicles less than the previous day. (Yonhap)