Ministry to waive base toll for wrong-exit re-entries on fiscal expressways

Multi-child household weekend discount already in effect

A new policy taking effect Thursday will waive the base toll for drivers who accidentally exit at the wrong expressway interchange and re-enter the same tollgate within 15 minutes. Pictured is the southbound Jamwon interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seocho-gu, Seoul, packed with holiday traffic during last chuseok. [Yonhap]
A new policy taking effect Thursday will waive the base toll for drivers who accidentally exit at the wrong expressway interchange and re-enter the same tollgate within 15 minutes. Pictured is the southbound Jamwon interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway in Seocho-gu, Seoul, packed with holiday traffic during last chuseok. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will begin waiving the base toll for drivers who accidentally exit at the wrong expressway interchange and re-enter the same tollgate within 15 minutes, under a new "wrong-exit toll relief" policy taking effect Thursday.

The measure is designed to improve convenience for expressway users and addresses a real safety concern: drivers who realize too late that they have taken the wrong exit sometimes make abrupt, dangerous lane changes to correct course. The ministry also considered the financial frustration of being charged twice — the base toll of 900 won plus a distance-based usage fee — because of a momentary lapse in judgment.

However, the relief does not apply to all expressways. It covers only government-funded fiscal expressways, excluding privately operated toll roads, and is capped at three times per vehicle per year. Drivers must also meet certain conditions, including re-entering the same tollgate within 15 minutes and paying with an electronic payment method such as Hi-Pass.

The ministry said the policy is expected to reduce toll charges in about 7.5 million cases annually, totaling 6.8 billion won ($5.03 million).

An infographic explaining the new wrong-exit base toll waiver system for expressways.
An infographic explaining the new wrong-exit base toll waiver system for expressways.

Meanwhile, a weekend and public holiday toll discount for households with two or more minor children has been in effect since July 28. Families with three or more children receive a 20 percent discount, while those with two children receive 10 percent. The program runs for three years through Aug. 21, 2029. Drivers can register in advance on the Korea Expressway Corporation's toll website or apply in person at a tollgate office. Like the wrong-exit relief policy, the multi-child discount applies only to fiscal expressways, not privately operated toll roads.

Jeong Cheon-woo, head of the road policy division at the ministry, said the new policy should eliminate the frustration of paying the base toll a second time after already losing time to a wrong exit. "We will also step up outreach to ensure that no eligible families miss out on the multi-child household discount that is already in place," he added.


smh@heraldcorp.com