People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Hui-yong. [Provided by Jeong Hui-yong's office]
People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Hui-yong. [Provided by Jeong Hui-yong's office]

A total of 23,754 pothole incidents were recorded on expressways nationwide over the past five years, according to data released Saturday.

People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Hui-yong, who represents Goryeong-gun, Seongju-gun and Chilgok-gun in North Gyeongsang Province and sits on the National Assembly's Land and Transport Committee, obtained the figures from the Korea Expressway Corporation. The data show that pothole occurrences stood at 4,285 in 2021, rose to 4,509 in 2022 and climbed further to 5,801 in 2023, before easing to 4,992 in 2024 and 4,167 last year.

Among individual expressways, the Jungang Expressway recorded the most potholes over the five-year period with 3,275 incidents, followed by the Yeongdong Expressway with 3,252, the West Coast Expressway with 2,229, the Gyeongbu Expressway with 2,162, the Jungbu Expressway with 2,037, the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway with 1,856, the Seoul Metropolitan Ring Expressway with 1,823, the Honam Expressway with 871, the Namhae Expressway with 868 and the Saemangeum-Pohang Branch Expressway with 720.

The Korea Expressway Corporation attributed the damage to a combination of factors, including moisture seeping into the pavement and load stress from vehicle traffic.

Compensation claims related to pothole damage have also been on the rise.

The number of claims grew from 1,218 in 2021 to 3,317 in 2025, while total compensation paid jumped 79 percent over the same period — from 1.94 billion won ($1.43 million) to 3.49 billion won.

"Proactive maintenance and repairs are needed to prevent serious traffic accidents caused by potholes," Jeong said. "In particular, compensation claims for pothole damage have been increasing in recent years, making it urgent for authorities to come up with countermeasures."


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