hankyoreh

Nov. 7 (Photo by Kim Tae-hyung)

By Kim Kyung-wook and Hong Seock-jae

On Nov. 11 and 12, the two days of the G-20 Summit, some roads around Coex in Seoul’s Samseong neighborhood, the main summit venue, will be subject to traffic regulation. The public transport system will change significantly.

A comprehensive traffic policy for the G-20 announced by Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) on Nov. 7 shows that from midnight until 10 p.m. on Nov. 12, traffic will be barred completely from the sections of road between Coex crossroads and Bongeunsa junction (the road known as Bongeunsa-ro) and between Bongeunsa junction and Hyundai Department Store junction (the road known as ASEM-ro). One lane of each road, however, will be flexibly open to local residents and commuters.

The section of the Yeongdongdae-ro road from Samseong Station crossroads to Gyeonggi High School crossroads, and the section of the Tehran-ro road from Samseong Station crossroads to Hyundai Department Store junction will be half closed.

When it comes to public transport, between midnight and 10 p.m. on Nov. 12, trains on Line 2 of Seoul Metropolitan Subway will not stop at Samseong Station and seven bus routes running along Bongeunsa-ro (numbers 342, 640, 3411, 3412, 3418, 4431 and Gangnam 01) will make detours along nearby Samseong-ro or turn around upon reaching nearby stops such as Cheongdam Park crossroads or Gyeonggi High School crossroads.

For two days on Nov. 11 and 12, SMG will run 58 extra trains on Lines 1 to 9 at rush hour time as a consequence of various roads being closed in the city, maintaining intervals of 2 to 2.5 minutes between each train. 428 extra city buses will also be deployed.

Elementary schools in Gangnam District, Seocho District, Songpa District and Dongjak District will begin classes at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m., while entrance by the general public to Coex Mall will be restricted on November 12.

Assemblies and demonstrations will be totally banned in the Coex area starting on Nov. 8. The ban applies to an area designated as a G-20 body guarding and safety zone, which stretches from 1.1 to 2.2km outwards from Coex and includes Cheongdam Bridge, parts of the Han River itself, the Jamsil Olympic Complex, Cheongdam neighborhood and Samseong neighborhood. From this day, unstaffed mailboxes at principal subway stations such as City Hall and Chungmuro will also be completely closed.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) has raised the air security level at Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae, Cheongju and Jeju airports, at which key figures will arrive, from their original “alert” to “red”. This is the first time MLTM has ever announced a “red” air security level, the highest among five.

When the air security level rises to “red,” the rate of hands-on customer body searches and hand luggage searches rises to 50 percent. Drivers are not allowed to leave vehicles parked close to key facilities in the vicinity of the airport. In cases where drivers leave vehicles parked unattended for more than five minutes, vehicles are towed away to areas further from the airport. Commercial premises inside the airport building are forbidden from remaining open late at night.

Incheon International Airport Corporation stated that raising the air security to its highest level would inevitably lead to longer boarding times and recommended that passengers arrive at the airport around one hour earlier than normal.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]