'Exempted, but Traffic Gets Worse'... Namsan Toll Citizen Vote Proposed

Decision on Continuation After Gathering Opinions and Expert Consultation
Traffic Volume in Namsan Tunnel Increased by 13% During Collection Suspension

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will conduct an online vote to gather citizens' opinions on the congestion toll collection policy for Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3.

On the 21st, Seoul announced through the Mvoting website that it will hold a citizen vote on the congestion toll collection and operation direction for Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3. The voting will take place from the 22nd of this month until the 22nd of next month.

Seoul plans to collect citizens' opinions through this vote and decide on the continuation or abolition of the congestion toll collection policy by the end of the year after expert advisory meetings and public hearings.

Previously, to verify the effectiveness of the congestion toll policy implemented since 1996, the city waived the toll fee of 2,000 won for two months from March 17 to May 16. In the first phase, the toll was waived for the outer area in the Gangnam direction, and in the second phase, it was waived for both directions, downtown and outer areas.

As a result, traffic volume in the Namsan Tunnel (based on the temporary suspension of toll collection in both directions) increased by 12.9%, and the speed in and around the tunnel decreased by 9%.

Lee Chang-seok, Director of the Seoul Transportation Policy Division, said, "Before making a policy decision on congestion toll collection, we want to gather various citizens' opinions on the entire congestion toll collection project," adding, "Since the vote is conducted online, we ask for the active interest of citizens."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.