Gwangju City to Support Early Retirement of Old Diesel Vehicles Starting from the 18th

Goal to Reduce 7,323 Grade 5 Vehicles... 33% Increase Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 17th that it will accept applications for the ‘2021 Early Retirement Support Project for Old Diesel Vehicles’ to reduce automobile emissions, a major source of air pollution such as fine dust.

This year’s support scale is a total of 7,323 vehicles, an increase of more than 33% compared to 5,500 vehicles in the first half of last year.

The application period is from the 18th to the 5th of next month, and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection, applications will only be accepted via the internet and registered mail.

Internet applications can be made by signing up, logging in, and verifying identity via mobile phone on the Ministry of Environment’s ‘Automobile Emission Grade System’ website, then applying for ‘Low Emission Measures (Early Retirement).’ No separate document submission is required when applying. Vehicles that have previously applied for ‘Low Emission Measures’ must reapply within the application period if they wish to retire early.

However, if applying by registered mail, applicants must submit to the city’s Air Quality Preservation Division ▲original early retirement application form ▲personal information consent form ▲copy of owner’s ID ▲copy of vehicle registration certificate, and the postmark date at the post office will be recognized until the 5th of next month.

Application forms can be downloaded from the announcement posted on the city’s website or obtained at local administrative welfare centers.

Eligible vehicles for early retirement are diesel vehicles with emission grade 5 and road-use type 3 construction machinery (dump trucks, concrete mixer trucks, concrete pump trucks) manufactured before 2005 under previous emission standards. Vehicles that have previously received government support for attaching emission reduction devices or converting to low-emission engines are excluded from support.

Emission grade confirmation can be checked by dialing area code +114, the Ministry of Environment call center, or on the Ministry of Environment website under ‘Automobile Emission Grade System.’

To qualify for early retirement, the vehicle must have been continuously registered and owned in Gwangju for at least six months as of the application deadline, and must have passed the functional inspection during the regular vehicle inspection.

This year, for diesel vehicles under 3.5 tons with emission grade 5 that cannot be equipped with particulate reduction devices, or vehicles owned by livelihood, business, or small business owners, the upper limit of early retirement support funds has been increased from the original 3 million KRW to 6 million KRW. However, for other early retirement applicants (eligible vehicles), the support amount will be determined within a maximum of 3 million KRW as in the previous year.

Also, last year, additional early retirement subsidies were provided only when purchasing a new vehicle excluding diesel vehicles after early retirement, but this year, subsidies will also be provided when purchasing and registering used vehicles with emission grades 1 to 2 (electric, hydrogen, hybrid, gasoline, LPG, etc.) other than diesel vehicles.

Furthermore, if a vehicle is confirmed by local governments or device manufacturers as having no developed or installable reduction devices, an additional 600,000 KRW will be supported within the basic early retirement support limit, and new vehicle purchase subsidies (including used cars) are possible even if the vehicle was registered within two months before the early retirement candidate selection.

For vehicles under 3.5 tons gross weight, 70% of the vehicle’s standard value will be supported upon retirement, and an additional 30% of the remaining amount will be supported when purchasing a new vehicle or a used vehicle with emission grade 1 to 2 that is not diesel after retirement.

For diesel vehicles over 3.5 tons and road-use type 3 construction machinery (dump trucks, concrete mixer trucks, concrete pump trucks) manufactured before 2005 under previous emission standards, up to 40 million KRW will be supported, with 100% of the vehicle’s standard value supported upon retirement and an additional 200% supported when purchasing a new vehicle.

Selection priority will be given to ▲vehicles with postponed fines due to emergency reduction measures ▲LPG 1-ton cargo vehicle new purchase support candidates ▲vehicles over 3.5 tons gross weight, manufactured and released before 2002 ▲vehicles that cannot be equipped with emission reduction devices, business-use vehicles, small business owner vehicles, livelihood vehicles, with budget focused on these, and other vehicles will be selected in order of oldest vehicle age (manufacture date).

Early retirement subsidies are calculated based on the quarterly vehicle standard value estimated by the Korea Insurance Development Institute or the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s standard market price, according to vehicle type, age, and model.

The schedule for early retirement will notify selected candidates by mail after the end of April, and those notified must issue a used car performance and condition inspection record (check announcement) and apply for the subsidy at the city after scrapping and deregistering the vehicle at a scrapyard.

Na Hae-cheon, head of the city’s Air Quality Preservation Division, said, “As the early retirement target has been greatly expanded this year, we ask owners of emission grade 5 diesel vehicles and road-use construction machinery to actively take interest and participate in the early retirement project to reduce fine dust and improve air quality.”

Meanwhile, Gwangju City has been promoting the old diesel vehicle early retirement support project since 2006 and has supported 10,792 vehicles to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.