Drivers who mistakenly take the wrong highway exit will soon be exempt from the basic toll fee if they re-enter the same tollgate within 15 minutes.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on September 29 that it will implement the highway mistaken-exit toll reduction starting October 1.

The reduction applies to vehicles that exit by mistake from closed-system tollgates on state-funded expressways managed by the Korea Expressway Corporation and re-enter within 15 minutes.

The waived basic fee is 900 won.

The benefit is limited to vehicles using electronic payment methods such as Hi-pass, and each vehicle can receive the reduction up to three times a year.

Previously, highway users had to pay the basic fee twice even if they returned to the same tollgate immediately, which also created risks of accidents caused by hazardous lane changes to avoid the charge.

The ministry estimated that 90.2 percent of vehicles making mistaken exits do so three times or fewer per year, expecting an annual toll reduction effect of about 7.5 million cases and 6.8 billion won.

This policy is limited to state-funded expressways. If a driver exits through a privately funded expressway tollgate and re-enters the same tollgate, the basic fee will not be waived.

In addition, the ministry urged drivers to make active use of the weekend and public holiday toll discounts for multi-child families, which have been in effect since July 28.

Families with three or more minor children receive a 20 percent discount, and those with two children receive a 10 percent discount.

This temporary policy will be implemented for three years until August 21, 2029, and applications can be made through the Korea Expressway Corporation toll website or by visiting a toll office.

Jeong Cheon-woo, head of the Road Policy Division at the ministry, said, "This system will resolve the inconvenience of having to pay duplicate basic fees due to mistaken exits," adding, "We will strengthen guidance to ensure that people do not miss out on benefits simply because they are unaware of already implemented programs like the multi-child family discount."

(Photo: Yonhap News)