Busan is expanding Gwangan Bridge toll benefits, previously limited to families with three or more children, to include families with two children.
The Busan Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that starting November 15, it will grant a 50 percent toll discount on Gwangan Bridge to two-child families. In addition to the existing free-passage benefit applied to roughly 20,000 households with three or more children, approximately 120,000 two-child households will newly become eligible for the discount.
The toll for regular vehicles will be reduced from the current 1,000 won to 500 won, and further lowered to 400 won for vehicles using Hi-Pass or completing prior registration. However, vehicles owned by corporations or organizations, those registered to sole proprietors, and vehicles registered under acquaintances' names—cases considered unrelated to the purpose of raising multiple children—are excluded.
Prior procedures are required to receive the discount. Eligible families must obtain a "Multi-Child Family Preferential Vehicle Sticker" from a community service center in Busan, then register their vehicle number and Hi-Pass card information on the Gwangan Bridge website. Eligible vehicles for sticker issuance include non-commercial vehicles such as passenger cars, vans with 12 or fewer seats, and cargo trucks of 1 ton or less. Rental and leased vehicles are also recognized if contracted under a household member's name, pending verification.
Online registration is available the day after the sticker is issued, and once registration is complete, the discounted rate will be applied automatically when using Gwangan Bridge. Those who fail to obtain the sticker or complete prior registration may be charged the regular rate. Users of prepaid Hi-Pass in particular should take note, as refunds are difficult without prior registration.
The measure is part of follow-up policies pursued by the city since it eased the multi-child standard to two children in October 2023. The city has gradually expanded preferential policies for multi-child families, including reduced public parking fees, discounts on community sports facilities, and the introduction of education support points.
"Extending the benefit to two-child families, following free tolls for three-child families, is a substantive measure to ease the burden of child-rearing," Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-deok said. "We will continue to strengthen childbirth and childcare support policies to accelerate the creation of a city that is good for having and raising children."
