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President Yoon Suk-yeol boards a car at his home in Seoul’s Seocho District on May 11 to commute to his office in Yongsan. (provided by the Office of the President)

Eight minutes: this was the time it took President Yoon Suk-yeol to commute from his private residence in Seoul’s Seocho District to his Yongsan presidential office on Wednesday. Thanks to advanced traffic control and traffic flow management by the police, Yoon’s commute did not cause traffic congestion as many feared.

Yoon stepped out of the Acrovista building in Seocho with his wife Kim Keon-hee and two of his dogs at 8:21 am on Wednesday. About two minutes later, Yoon set off via car and arrived at Gate No. 13 of the US Army garrison in Yongsan, which connects to the presidential office, eight minutes later.

The 6.4-kilometer-long route typically takes 15 minutes by car. Though the intersection in front of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital that connects the Seocho neighborhood with Banpo Bridge is notorious for its traffic jams during rush hour, the police’s traffic control did not cause much congestion.

Instead of closing off entire roads, the police made way for Yoon’s motorcade by securing one or two lanes. In fact, an individual who was crossing Banpo Bridge on the same day even posted a video of Yoon’s convoy passing them in the next lane on social media.

However, Yoon began his commute later than expected. Though many predicted that he would set out from his home around 7 am to avoid traffic, he left Seocho at 8:23 am, right in the middle of rush hour.

“Though it was rush hour, the president’s commute did not cause a traffic jam within Seoul. [Yoon’s] commute time will vary depending on the day’s schedule,” a police official said.

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s motorcade makes its way to the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on May 11.

After Yoon arrived at the presidential office in Yongsan, a reporter asked how he felt after his first commute to work. Instead of answering the question, Yoon responded to criticism that pointed out Yoon’s failure to mention national unity — arguably one of the most urgent tasks faced by South Korea — during his inaugural address.

Yoon said, “Some people mentioned that I didn’t reference national unity during my inaugural address yesterday, but that was because [national unity] is a given.”

He continued, “Our political process itself is a process of national unity,” adding, “I talked about what values our national unity will aspire to. Please understand [my inaugural address] that way.”

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter; Park Su-ji, staff reporter

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