Korea Self-Service Gas Stations: Fuel Cost and Card Hold

How much does a full tank cost in Korea?

On 23 September 2026, Opinet's national average, run by the Korea National Oil Corporation, was ₩1,858.47 per litre for regular gasoline and ₩1,843.86 for diesel. Opinet's regional table for the same day put Seoul highest at ₩1,903.90 for gasoline and ₩1,886.24 for diesel. Opinet publishes these averages every morning for the previous day, so check the live figure before relying on them.

Multiplying those prices by common tank sizes gives the cost of a fill from empty. Check your car's actual tank capacity in the rental listing or the owner's manual; compact cars tend to sit at the low end and SUVs and minivans at the high end.

In practice you rarely refill from empty. A top-up from a quarter tank is about three-quarters of these figures. The widely quoted "₩150,000 for a full tank" is closer to the pump's pre-charge than to what most rental cars actually cost.

How do you use a self-service pump in Korea?

Look for 셀프 (self) on the station sign. The screen is in Korean, but the order is broadly the same from one pump to the next.

Why does a Korean gas pump hold ₩150,000 on your card?

The pump cannot know how much fuel will go in, so it first charges the maximum amount you selected as a kind of deposit. The Financial Supervisory Service explained the process in a March 2024 warning issued with the Credit Finance Association. In its worked examples, the "full" option pre-charged ₩150,000. When less fuel goes in, the pump requests a second approval for the real amount and then cancels the ₩150,000.

The risk is in that second step. If the real amount is declined, for example because the pre-charge has used up most of your card limit, the pre-charge is not cancelled and stays as the fuel payment. The FSS example is a driver with ₩200,000 of limit left who pressed "full": ₩150,000 was taken, the ₩96,000 fill was then refused because only ₩50,000 of limit remained, and the driver paid ₩54,000 too much. The FSS advice is to check the receipt for words such as 승인 실패 (approval failed) or 한도 초과 (limit exceeded), and to ask the station to cancel the overcharge. A cancellation, like any card refund, can take 3–4 business days to come back.

For a visitor, that matters in two situations: a card with a low limit, and a trip where you fill up several times in a few days. How quickly a cancelled pre-charge disappears from a foreign card's available balance depends on your bank.

At a full-service station, say 가득이요 (ga-deuk-i-yo, "full, please") or 5만원이요 ("₩50,000 worth") and hand over your card.

What if you put the wrong fuel in a Korean rental car?

The common mistake is gasoline in a diesel car, because the thinner gasoline nozzle fits a diesel filler. Many rental SUVs and vans run on diesel, so check the fuel cap before you choose on the screen.

Returning the car

Rental prices in Korea generally exclude fuel. Lotte Rent-a-car, for example, says its cars are generally handed over with a full tank and that it may charge to refill a car returned short; its FAQ asks renters to return the same amount of fuel they received. Fill up close to the return office and keep the receipt. For tolls on the way back, see expressway tolls and Hi-Pass in a rental car.