NATIONAL

Old diesel cars will be banned from being driven in Seoul when heavy fine dust alerts are issued. The Seoul Metropolitan Government ordered that diesel vehicles, registered before Dec. 31, 2005, will be restricted in downtown Seoul.

Old diesel cars will be banned from being driven in Seoul when heavy fine dust alerts are issued.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government ordered that diesel vehicles, registered before Dec. 31, 2005, will be restricted in downtown Seoul from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. when emergency action against heavy air pollution is needed. Any violators will be fined 100,000 won ($94).

The restriction will take effect next month after a regulation review.

According to government data, 200,000 vehicles are subject to the restriction in Seoul and 2.2 million nationwide. Given that 22.69 million cars were registered as of March, one out of 10 will be affected.

The city government initially considered restricting diesel-powered cars registered before December 2005 that weigh 2.5 tons or above.

However, through public hearings and discussions, Seoul reached a conclusion to expand the number of cars to be controlled.

Diesel vehicles that were registered outside Seoul and weigh less than 2.5 tons and those driven by the disabled will have a grace period until February next year to install emission reduction devices on their vehicles.

“We considered giving some exceptions to some vehicles driven by those who make a living using aged diesel cars. However, we decided to minimize the exemption range to increase the efficiency of the initiative,” said an official of the city government.

Diesel cars have taken heavy flak for polluting the air, with the government announcing measures aimed at reducing fine dust emissions. Meanwhile, the city government recently withdrew its plan to provide free public transportation on days fine dust warnings are issued.