"Geumnam-ro Vehicle Ban, More Route 518 Buses"... Traffic Measures for May 18 Memorial Week

Geumnam-ro to Be Fully Closed From May 15 to 18;
19 City Bus Routes Rerouted

More 518 Buses to National May 18 Democratic Cemetery on May 18;
Shorter Intervals Between Trips

Road Closures for Youth Culture Festival on May 23

In anticipation of the upcoming May 18 Democratic Uprising Memorial Week, vehicle traffic patterns throughout downtown Gwangju will be adjusted. For three days, no vehicles will be permitted on Geumnam-ro, and the number of city buses heading to the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery will be increased. On May 13, the Gwangju City Government announced that special traffic measures will be implemented from May 15 to 23, when memorial events and visitor movements are expected to overlap.

The Geumnam-ro section (from Geumnam Park to the May 18 Democracy Plaza), which will serve as the main venue for events, will be completely closed to vehicles from 8:00 p.m. on May 15 until 3:00 p.m. on May 18. Nineteen city bus routes that normally pass through this section will be rerouted to nearby roads.

On May 16, the "RUN 5·18 Road to the Provincial Office" and the Democratic Peace March will take place. The section from Chonnam National University to Gwangju Station and May 18 Democracy Plaza will be partially closed at different times. Bus routes Seat 02 and Jinyol 07 will operate on detours. The remaining 43 bus routes will operate at reduced speeds according to on-site traffic control.

On May 18, when the largest number of visitors is expected, the number of 518 city buses heading toward the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery will be increased. The number of operating buses will go up from 10 to 12, and daily service frequency will expand to 70 trips. The bus interval will be shortened to around 20 to 30 minutes.

On May 23, the day of the "May 18 Youth Culture Festival," all vehicle traffic will be prohibited on the section from Geumnam-ro Park to Jeonil Building 245 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. All city buses passing through this section will be rerouted.

The Gwangju City Government, together with Dong-gu and Buk-gu districts and the police, will crack down on illegal parking and standing in the areas surrounding Geumnam-ro and the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery. On-site staff and tow trucks will also be deployed.

Bae Sangyoung, Director of Public Transportation for Gwangju City, stated, "As downtown traffic controls are planned during the event period, we ask citizens to use public transportation and check the detour routes in advance."