"Hundreds of thousands of people gathered." A religious group rally in downtown Seoul...heavy traffic

[Anchor]
Today (27th), a religious group rally was held in downtown Seoul, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

Police control major roads in Gwanghwamun, Seoul Station, and Yeouido in preparation for the event, causing severe traffic congestion.

I'm connecting with the reporter. Reporter, General Manager!

It's a rare large-scale rally these days, so how is the situation on the ground?

[Reporter]
Yes, a large-scale joint service hosted by the Korean Church Association, a group of Protestant groups, has just begun.

It will be held from Gwanghwamun Square to Seoul Station and Yeouido.

They will voice their opposition to the enactment of anti-discrimination laws and the legislation of same-sex marriage, but a large crowd gathered in the middle of downtown Seoul.

Organizers said more than 610,000 people had registered by Thursday last week, with expectations of up to 1 million people gathering today, the day of the event, and major congestion is expected.

YTN reporters are out at the scene, but the crowd began to gather early in the morning, and the area of the rally is very crowded now.

I'll explain the situation on the spot while looking at the real-time CCTV screen.

■ Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul

First, the road from Gwanghwamun Square to Sungnyemun Gate.

The lane toward Seoul Station is completely blocked.

There are large stages and electronic boards in the middle of the road that illuminate the stage, and the crowd is so dense that there is no end in sight.

Traffic flow is not smooth as two-way lanes are closed except for some lanes.

■Seoul City Hall

Next is in front of Seoul City Hall.

Likewise, the entire lane is controlled.

Participants filled the road before and after the large electronic display.

There is traffic in the opposite lane, but the flow is slow.

■ southern end of Mapo Bridge in Seoul

Lastly, it's Yeouido.

Although there are fewer people than the Gwanghwamun area, the congestion is severe as all lanes toward Yeongdeungpo Station adjacent to Yeouido Park are closed.

Police entered an emergency system as a large crowd gathered in the center of downtown Seoul.

Police believe that there are about 140,000 people attending, but they believe that it could be bigger, so they have controlled major roads where rallies are held since dawn and started traffic management.

First of all, vehicle traffic has been restricted since early this morning for the section between Gwanghwamun and Seoul Station in Sejong-daero, the main assembly site, and the southern end of Mapo Bridge to Seoul Bridge in Yeouido.

Depending on the situation, we plan to expand the control section from Yulgok-ro Anguk Station to Gwanghwamun Intersection, Uiju Rotary in Seosomun-ro to City Hall, and from City Hall to Euljiro Entrance.

More than 200 traffic police officers were deployed around the rally site to manage traffic, including detouring vehicles, but traffic congestion is expected to continue throughout today as so many people gather.

The police urged drivers to use public transportation such as subways today as much as possible, and to check real-time traffic information in advance.

So far, I'm YTN's manager in the social affairs department.