Gyeongbuk Province to Provide Additional Support for Early Retirement of 4,270 Old Diesel Vehicles in Second Half of the Year

Secured 6.8 Billion Won Support Budget for Second Half ... 29,050 Units Supported in First Half

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 28th that it has secured an additional budget of 6.8 billion KRW to support 4,270 more vehicles in order to address the surge in early retirement applications for old diesel vehicles this year.

In the first half of the year, 27.9 billion KRW was invested to support 29,050 vehicles, but due to the strengthened restrictions on the operation of grade 5 vehicles and the surge in demand from residents for early retirement, including replacement with eco-friendly vehicles, applications exceeded the budget allocation by 133%.

Accordingly, in the second half of this year, an additional 4.1 billion KRW in national funds and 2.7 billion KRW in local funds have been secured to provide additional support to owners of grade 5 vehicles wishing to retire their vehicles early.

The early retirement support program provides up to 3 million KRW for early retirement of grade 5 diesel vehicles and construction machinery subject to emission standards before 2005 (however, vehicles that cannot be equipped with particulate matter reduction devices, commercial vehicles, small business owner vehicles, and vehicles owned by basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty class are eligible for up to 6 million KRW).

Vehicle grade verification can be checked through the automobile emission grade system website, the Ministry of Environment call center, KT customer center, and others.

The subsidy amount supports 70% (up to 4.2 million KRW) of the standard price calculated by the Insurance Development Institute upon early retirement, and provides an additional subsidy of 30% (up to 1.8 million KRW) when purchasing a new vehicle excluding diesel vehicles or a used vehicle with emission grades 1 to 2.

Since the transportation sector accounts for 13.8% of fine dust emissions, Gyeongbuk Province has continuously promoted projects to reduce old diesel vehicles. The number of registered grade 5 diesel vehicles was 230,000 in 2019, but currently stands at 150,000, reducing by 80,000 vehicles.

Going forward, in line with the government's Green New Deal task of eco-friendly mobility policy, the province will push for zero old diesel vehicles by 2024.

Choi Young-sook, Director of the Environment, Forestry and Resources Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "We have made efforts to secure additional national funds to meet the increased demand from residents, enabling additional support for early retirement in the second half of the year."

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