What happened at Shinsegae Gangnam?

On October 18, Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam in Seocho-gu, Seoul, restricted vehicle exits from around 5 p.m., according to distribution industry reports. Visitors who had come for the weekend were left waiting in the underground parking lot for more than five hours, as a sudden downpour and severe congestion on the roads around Banpo made it impossible for cars to move.

Why were cars stuck?

The store said the exit delays were caused by traffic jams around Banpo, where many people were driving on a weekend and the rain arrived suddenly. The store's announcements repeatedly told visitors that exits were delayed because of the road conditions. The store said there had been no accident.

What did visitors experience?

A man in his 40s surnamed Lee told Yonhap News that he had been waiting since 4:40 p.m. and had lived nearby for more than ten years without seeing anything like it. He said he went home at 6 p.m. and returned at 8 p.m., only to find the cars still in the same place, and described the parking lot temperature as over 40 degrees Celsius.

How is the store responding?

Shinsegae said customers could take their cars out the next day without paying additional fees. Police deployed traffic and local officers to the scene and said the congestion was gradually clearing.

For international fans

The incident happened during a day of heavy rain and strong winds in Seoul. According to Munhwa Ilbo, Gangbuk-gu recorded 65 mm of cumulative daily rainfall by 5 p.m., and at one point the city saw 53.5 mm of rain per hour. Flooding and facility damage were reported across the city, and the Seoul Fire Department logged 129 rain-related activities, while 29 streams including Jungnangcheon and Yangjaecheon were closed to access.