"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!

A large rally was held in the middle of the city, how is the situation on the ground?

[Reporter]
Yes, from 2 p.m. today, large-scale joint services hosted by Protestant groups are being held in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul Station, and Yeouido.

A large crowd gathered in the middle of downtown Seoul to voice opposition to the enactment of anti-discrimination laws and the legislation of same-sex marriage.

Organizers said more than 610,000 people had registered by Thursday last week, but the prospect of up to 1 million people gathering today, the day of the event, was expected to cause major congestion.

YTN reporters are out at the scene, and crowds have gathered since early morning, and the area is in a state of extreme congestion as the rally begins.

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.

Large stages and electronic boards that illuminate the stage are installed, and the crowd is so dense that there is no end in sight.

Road control is carried out without some lanes, and traffic flow is not smooth.

■Seoul City Hall

Next is in front of Seoul City Hall.

Likewise, there is no end in sight as participants fill the road back and forth with large electronic boards.

The entire lane is closed, and traffic is on the other side, but the flow is slow.

■ southern end of Mapo Bridge in Seoul

Lastly, it's Yeouido.

This place is also heavily congested as all lanes of Yeongdeungpo Station, which is 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.