Parking Lot Exit Takes 3 Hours... Wave of Complaints Erupts

Let us look at our third hot topic.

Major hospitals in Seoul have turned into traffic hell.

Severe traffic congestion has recently been repeating around major hospitals in Seoul.

Citizen complaints are growing.

Let us take a look together.

According to the Seoul Transport Operation and Information Service (TOPIS), roads around the top 5 major general hospitals in Seoul were all congested at 11:00 AM on the 24th.

Online accounts are also flooding in, such as "It usually takes 10 minutes from home to the hospital, but it took an hour and a half" and "It barely took me 3 hours to get out of the parking lot."

The reason behind this traffic congestion appears to be the concentration of medical services in the capital area.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, non-capital region patients at the top 5 major general hospitals in Seoul stood at 797,000, an increase of nearly 12% compared to two years ago.

While hospitals advise the use of public transportation or shuttle buses, the high proportion of private car use is inevitable given that many patients have mobility issues.

In addition, worsening summer weather conditions such as heatwaves and torrential downpours are further fueling the congestion.

As severe patients flock to advanced general hospitals, concerns are simultaneously rising that worsening congestion could make it difficult to secure the golden time for emergency vehicles.

(Photo Source: Yonhap News (Provided by reader))
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.