A text reminds you that your car’s periodic inspection is due, you think “next week,” and a month goes by. Most Korean drivers know a late inspection means a fine. Fewer know how the fine grows day by day, or that from 2025 the inspection window and a new car’s first inspection date changed. We read the Enforcement Rule and Decree of the Motor Vehicle Management Act as written and worked out the fine for each number of days late.
1. The window runs from 90 days before to 31 days after expiry. The front end widened to 90 days on 1 January 2025, and passing within the window counts as inspection on the expiry date.
2. The fine starts at 40,000 won and adds 20,000 won every 3 days. Up to 30 days late it is 40,000 won; from day 31, 20,000 won is added for every 3 days; at 115 days or more it is 600,000 won. By our count it already reaches 600,000 won on day 114.
3. New cars registered from 2025 are first inspected after 5 years. Private passenger cars are inspected every 2 years, and a new car’s first validity period is 5 years — for cars newly registered on or after 1 January 2025.
When it is due — validity and the window
Periodic inspection under article 43(1)2 of the Act falls due at the end of each validity period in Annex 15-2, to which article 74 of the Rule points. Validity runs from new registration, then from the day after each inspection. If you pass within the window, the new period runs from the day after the old expiry date — so going early costs you nothing.
| Vehicle | Validity | First validity for new cars |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger car, private | 2 years | 5 years |
| Passenger car, commercial | 1 year | 2 years |
| Small van, private | 2 years up to 4 years old, then 1 year | — |
| Small truck, private | 2 years up to 4 years old, then 1 year | — |
An extract of Annex 15-2 (amended 17 December 2024). Medium and large vans and trucks and special vehicles are 1 year or 6 months depending on age, as set out in the annex. Article 3 of the addenda applies the amended annex to vehicles newly registered on or after 1 January 2025 — cars registered earlier keep their existing first-inspection timing.
The window is article 77(2) of the Rule: from 90 days before to 31 days after the validity expiry date, and a pass within it counts as inspection on the expiry date. Article 2 of the same addenda applies this to cars inspected on or after 1 January 2025. If you bought a car whose validity had already expired, the window is 31 days from the transfer registration (paragraph 3).
If you are late — Decree Annex 2 as written
Enforcement Decree of the Motor Vehicle Management Act, Annex 2, individual standards, item so Failing to undergo periodic inspection under article 43(1)2 or comprehensive inspection under article 43-2(1) of the Act:
1) delay of 30 days or less: 40,000 won
2) delay of more than 30 and up to 114 days: 40,000 won plus 20,000 won for every 3 days in excess, counted from day 31
3) delay of 115 days or more: 600,000 won
Worked out by day, that gives the table below. We counted “every 3 days in excess” as the days beyond 30 divided by 3, rounded down — on that reading day 114 comes to exactly 600,000 won, joining up with the flat 600,000 won from day 115.
| Days late | Fine | Working |
|---|---|---|
| 1–30 | 40,000 won | Flat |
| 33 | 60,000 won | 4 + 2×1 (10,000s) |
| 60 | 240,000 won | 4 + 2×10 |
| 90 | 440,000 won | 4 + 2×20 |
| 114 | 600,000 won | 4 + 2×28 |
| 115 or more | 600,000 won | Flat |
The day examples and arithmetic are ours. Past the first month, 20,000 won every 3 days is roughly 6,700 won a day. Motorcycle inspections have their own line (item gu): 20,000 won up to 30 days, then 10,000 won for every 3 days, and 200,000 won from 85 days.
Days that are excluded, and reductions
- Extended or deferred periods are not counted. General standard (d) of Annex 2 excludes from the delay the time from the event until the end of an extension or deferral granted under article 43(4) of the Act, for reasons such as scrapping arising after the window opened.
- Grounds for extension or deferral are in article 75 of the Rule — theft, accident, scrapping, seizure, long repairs and similar unavoidable reasons, on the owner’s application.
- Reductions. General standard (e) allows a cut of up to one half for minor carelessness or error, efforts to fix the breach and similar cases (not for those in arrears).
- Reminders. Article 77-2 of the Rule has provincial governors notify owners by post or text within 10 days and within 20 days after the window closes.
Checklist
- ☐ Find the validity expiry date on your registration certificate or the reminder text
- ☐ You can book from 90 days before expiry — validity still runs from the day after expiry
- ☐ A passenger car first registered in 2025 or later is first inspected after 5 years
- ☐ In an accident or long repair? Apply for extension or deferral first
Questions that remain
Is the fine different for comprehensive inspections?
Item so of Annex 2 puts periodic and comprehensive inspections on one line with the same amounts. Which cars need comprehensive inspection is set by separate rules that we did not reproduce here.
Is a second late inspection fined more heavily?
General standard (b) applies higher tiers to repeat violations within 1 year, but item so sets amounts by length of delay rather than by offence number, so the table above stands.
Sources
- Enforcement Rule of the Motor Vehicle Management Act [in force 15 Sep 2026] [MOLIT Ordinance No. 1621] — original text (checked 29 September 2026). Source for article 74 (start of validity), article 75 (extension and deferral), article 77 (90 days before to 31 days after; 31 days after transfer), article 77-2 (10- and 20-day notices), articles 1 to 3 of the addenda to Ordinance No. 1415 of 17 December 2024 (1 January 2025) and Annex 15-2, inspection validity periods.
- Enforcement Decree of the Motor Vehicle Management Act [in force 3 Jun 2026] [Presidential Decree No. 36376] — Annex 2, standards for fines (amended 2 June 2026). Source for item so (40,000 won, 20,000 won every 3 days, 600,000 won), item gu (motorcycles, 20,000, 10,000 and 200,000 won) and general standards (d) and (e).
- Our own working. The fines by day and “roughly 6,700 won a day” are our arithmetic from the annex wording.
Where to check further
- Booking and expiry dates — the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s inspection booking service.
- Checking and paying fines — the city, county or district where the car is registered.
Written on 29 September 2026. Articles and annexes are from the National Law Information Center; the tables and arithmetic are ours. Taxes you pay while owning a car are in car taxes.
