A speed camera proves a car was speeding. It doesn’t prove who was driving. Korean law handles that with a separate fine for camera cases, sent to whoever is responsible for the car. So after a camera flash, the question is not only how much, but who the bill goes to.
This guide covers Korea’s default speed limits, the two kinds of speeding penalty, what each one costs, and how it works when the car was a rental.
The short answer
- Speed limits: 50 km/h by default in residential, commercial and industrial areas, and up to 100 km/h on most expressways, with 120 km/h on some designated sections. Posted signs can set a different limit.
- Camera tickets: when the driver isn’t identified, the fine goes to the person responsible for the car, and the law counts a renter as that person.
- Cost: for a passenger car, KRW 40,000 to 130,000 depending on how far over the limit you were. School zones and senior or disability protection zones cost more between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- Rental cars: the government’s model rental contract makes the renter responsible for traffic fines from the rental period, even after the car is returned.
Speed limits in Korea
Default limits are set in Article 19 of the Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act (도로교통법 시행규칙). They apply unless a sign says otherwise.
| Road | Maximum | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary roads in residential, commercial and industrial areas | 50 km/h (60 km/h on sections the provincial police designate) | None set |
| Other ordinary roads | 60 km/h (80 km/h with two or more lanes each way) | None set |
| Motor-vehicle-only roads (자동차전용도로) | 90 km/h | 30 km/h |
| Expressways, one lane each way | 80 km/h | 50 km/h |
| Expressways, two or more lanes each way | 100 km/h (80 km/h for trucks over 1.5 metric tons of load capacity, special vehicles, hazardous-materials carriers and construction machinery) | 50 km/h |
| Expressway sections designated by the National Police Agency | Up to 120 km/h (up to 90 km/h for the same vehicle types) | 50 km/h |
In miles, 30 km/h is about 19 mph, 50 km/h about 31 mph, 100 km/h about 62 mph and 120 km/h about 75 mph (our conversions).
Bad weather lowers the limit. The same article cuts the maximum by 20% on roads wet from rain or with snow under 20 mm. It cuts it by 50% when heavy rain, snow or fog drops visibility to 100 meters or less, when the road is icy, or when snow is 20 mm or deeper. Where a variable speed limit sign is posted, its limit applies instead.
School zones are slower. Article 12 of the Road Traffic Act lets local governments limit traffic near schools, kindergartens and similar facilities to 30 km/h or less. Follow the posted number rather than assuming one.
Who a camera ticket goes to
The police and local governments may install unmanned enforcement equipment under Article 4-2 of the Road Traffic Act. What that equipment records is the car.
Article 160(3) covers that gap. When speeding is shown by a photo, video or other recorded image, and either the driver can’t be identified or a driver’s fine can’t be issued, an administrative fine (과태료) of up to KRW 200,000 can go to the vehicle’s “employer and others” (고용주등).
Article 56(1) defines that group widely. It covers a driver’s employer and anyone who manages or uses the vehicle. It also names people who rent a business vehicle under the Passenger Transport Service Act, which covers car rental businesses. Leased cars are covered too.
So a camera case starts with the administrative fine for the person responsible. The other route is a driver’s fine (범칙금), issued to an identified driver through a notice. That is a separate process, not a cheaper option you pick from the table below.
Under Article 160(4), the administrative fine is not imposed if the driver has already received a driver’s fine. It is also not imposed if the real driver is identified when you submit your opinion or an objection to the notice. And it is not imposed on a rental company when it is clear the company only rented the car out.
How much a speeding fine costs
The amounts below are for the “passenger car” class (승용자동차등). The driver’s-fine table defines it as passenger cars and trucks of 4 metric tons or less, and the camera-fine tables use the same class name. Vans and buses (승합자동차), larger trucks and motorcycles have their own amounts.
| Over the limit by | Camera fine to the person responsible (과태료) | Driver’s fine (범칙금) | Camera fine in a protection zone, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 km/h or less | KRW 40,000 | KRW 30,000 | KRW 70,000 |
| Over 20, up to 40 km/h | KRW 70,000 | KRW 60,000 | KRW 100,000 |
| Over 40, up to 60 km/h | KRW 100,000 | KRW 90,000 | KRW 130,000 |
| Over 60 km/h | KRW 130,000 | KRW 120,000 | KRW 160,000 |
The camera fine comes from Annex 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act, the driver’s fine from Annex 8. The protection zone column comes from Annex 7, which covers school zones and senior or disability protection zones. Article 88(4) of the decree applies it only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This guide covers the money only. The driver’s route can bring other consequences for a license record, and we haven’t covered those here.
Speeding fine calculator
Passenger cars and trucks of 4 metric tons or less only. Enter the posted limit and the speed the camera recorded.
Amounts from Annexes 6, 7 and 8 of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act; weather rule from Article 19 of the Enforcement Rule. Last checked October 12, 2026. Where a variable speed limit sign is posted, its number is the limit. This is an estimate, not a legal decision.
Paying early and paying late
The administrative fine has its own rules under the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order (질서위반행위규제법). Article 18 lets the agency reduce the fine if you pay voluntarily before the deadline for submitting your opinion, which the advance notice sets. The enforcement decree caps that reduction at 20%.
Paying the reduced amount closes the case. Under Article 88(6) of the Road Traffic Act decree, the fine is otherwise due within 60 days of receiving the payment notice. Article 88(7) warns that unpaid fines can collect a late-payment surcharge.
If you were driving a rental car
Two sets of rules point the same way. Under the Road Traffic Act, a renter counts as a person responsible for the car, and the rental company is excluded when it only rented the car out.
The contract side says the same. Article 16(2) of the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s model rental contract makes the renter responsible for traffic fines, parking fines and parking fees from the rental period, even after the car goes back. Your own company’s contract is what applies, so read its section on fines.
Payment can also run through your card. When we checked Lotte Rent-a-Car’s English rental page on October 9, 2026, it said charges such as fuel, tolls and fines are billed to your registered card after a key-drop return. None of these rules explain how a fine reaches you once you’ve left Korea, so ask the company before you drive off. For the rest of the counter process, see our guide to what Korean law and rental companies each require when you rent.
Fines aren’t the only charge that can reach you after the trip. Expressway tolls left unpaid at the exit can too, and our guide to Korea’s highway tolls and unpaid tolls shows how to check and pay them.
Checking and paying a fine
The Korean National Police Agency runs Traffic Civil Affairs 24 (교통민원24, also known as eFine) at efine.go.kr. Its menus include unpaid administrative fines (미납과태료) and unpaid driver’s fines (미납범칙금).
When we opened it on October 12, 2026, the site was in Korean only, with no language menu. Its login options are Korean identity checks: simple authentication, financial or joint certificates, and a mobile ID. The site doesn’t say whether visitors without these can log in.
The payment notice names the agency that issued the fine. If you think a fine is wrong, or you need to show someone else was driving, contact that agency or the police station named on the notice. A rental company can tell you what it charges under your contract, but it can’t decide the legal question.
Before you drive
- Treat the posted sign as the limit, especially on city streets where the default is only 50 km/h.
- Slow down in school zones and senior or disability protection zones, where daytime fines are higher.
- Lower your speed in rain, snow or fog. The legal limit drops by 20% or 50% in those conditions.
- If you rent, ask at pick-up how the company handles fines that arrive after you have left Korea, and keep your rental contract.
Last checked: October 12, 2026. Sources: Road Traffic Act, Articles 4-2, 12, 56 and 160, Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act, Article 88 and Annexes 6, 7 and 8, Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act, Article 19, Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order, Article 18 and its Enforcement Decree, Article 5 (Korean Law Information Center, in Korean); Standard Terms for Car Rental No. 10064 (Korea Fair Trade Commission, in Korean); Lotte Rent-a-Car rental information; Traffic Civil Affairs 24 (Korean National Police Agency, in Korean).
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