South Korea Extends Night Toll Discounts for Freight Trucks Until 2028

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has moved to extend by two years the night-time expressway toll discount granted to commercial freight vehicles and construction machinery, postponing a sunset date that would otherwise have fallen on 31 December 2026. The proposal was published for public comment on 11 November 2026 in the Official Gazette (관보) No. 21359 as 국토교통부공고 제2026-1435호, a legislative pre-announcement of a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Toll Road Act (「유료도로법 시행령」). Under the draft, the discount would stay in force until 31 December 2028.

The notice was issued by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under Article 41 of the Administrative Procedures Act (「행정절차법」), which requires the government to publish the grounds and main contents of draft subordinate legislation in advance and invite public comment. The scheme it preserves is a standing reduction on expressway tolls for operators of commercial vehicles during the deep-night window, when traffic volumes are lowest and freight hauliers do the bulk of long-distance runs.

A Sunset Date Pushed Back Exactly Two Years

The single substantive change described in the notice is the expiry date. The sunset clause for the night discount would be moved from 31 December 2026 to 31 December 2028, a straight two-year extension.

The ministry gives one reason for the amendment: support for the freight transport industry (화물운송업계 지원). The pre-announcement sets out no change to the size of the reduction, the vehicles covered, or the hours in which it applies — the existing parameters are simply carried forward under a later end date.

Who Qualifies, and Over What Hours

The notice specifies the scope of the scheme as follows:

• Eligible users: commercial freight vehicles (사업용 화물차) and construction machinery put to commercial use (사업용 건설기계).
• Where: expressways nationwide (고속국도).
• When: the deep-night period, defined as 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day (오후 9시부터 다음 날 오전 6시까지).
• Level of relief: a toll discount of 30% to 50% (30%∼50%).
• Proposed end date: 31 December 2028.

Public Consultation Open Until 14 December

Interested organisations and individuals have until 14 December 2026 to submit comments on the draft. The ministry lists two channels and a set of formal requirements:

• Online: through the National Legislative Participation Centre (국민참여입법센터, opinion.lawmaking.go.kr).
• By post or delivery: to the Road Policy Division (도로정책과) of the Ministry’s Road Bureau, Government Complex Sejong Building 6, Room 656, 11 Doum 6-ro, Sejong-si (postcode 30103).
• What to include: the commenter’s name, address and telephone number — for corporations and associations, the organisation’s name and the name of its representative — plus an item-by-item opinion stating support or opposition and the reasons.
• Contact: telephone 044-201-3883 or 044-201-3880; fax 044-201-5588.
• Full text: available on the ministry’s website (molit.go.kr) under policy materials, legislation and legislative pre-announcements.

The notice does not estimate how many operators use the discount or what it costs the road budget; those figures are absent from the published text.

The extension matters most for small and mid-sized hauliers, who plan vehicle replacement and route economics years ahead and for whom tolls are a recurring fixed cost on long overnight runs. Confirmation of a 2028 end date removes, for now, the risk that the relief lapses at the turn of the year. It remains a draft: the discount survives beyond 2026 only if the decree is enacted following the consultation that closes on 14 December 2026.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea (관보), No. 21359, 11 November 2026, announcements section (official reference: 국토교통부공고 제2026-1435호).