[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Road Closures for Seoul Marathons Quadruple in Four Years... Bus Diversions Double in One Year

Cumulative total of 1,437 bus-route diversions last year
Roads closed every Sunday in Jongno-gu in November last year
88.2% of 1,012 complaints concerned traffic restrictions

Road closures for marathons and running events in Seoul are becoming more frequent, adding to the inconvenience for residents. Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency oversaw 28 marathons, four times the seven held in 2022. In one case, as many as 152 city bus routes were diverted for a single event.

The Asia Business Daily DB

According to data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to Jin Sun-mi, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, a cumulative total of 1,437 bus-route diversions was recorded for 36 marathons and running events last year, up 115.8% from 666 the year before. Routes diverted at multiple events were counted each time.

Most diversions took place in the fall. From September to November last year, 1,001 route diversions were recorded, accounting for 69.7% of the total. This year, the cumulative number of route diversions reached 1,101 through October 11, up 53.1% from the same period last year.

Road closures were also concentrated in certain areas. In Jongno-gu last year, sections of roads were closed for marathons and running events on all five Sundays in November. Of the 28 events overseen by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, 17 included areas under the jurisdiction of police stations in Jongno-gu, the most of any district. Sejong-daero was also included in the closure routes for 16 events, making it the most frequently closed major road.

Last year, road closures for events lasted an average of about 5 hours and 1 minute, with the longest lasting 10 hours. The Seoul Metropolitan Government received 1,012 marathon-related complaints, up 106.5% from the previous year; 893 of them (88.2%) concerned traffic restrictions.

“When the same roads are repeatedly closed, residents have to deal with the inconvenience every week,” Jin said. “We should review the annual number of closures and bus diversions by district and adjust event schedules and routes to prevent them from being concentrated in specific areas.”

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