[A surveillance camera monitoring emissions restrictions for Level 5 vehicles, installed on Gangbyeonbuk-ro in Mapo-gu, Seoul, facing Guri (Yonhap News file photo)]
The Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment announced today (Feb. 10) that it will discontinue subsidies for early scrapping of vehicles rated as emissions Level 5 and for installing smoke reduction devices on Level 5 diesel vehicles after this year.
Emissions Level 5 vehicles include gasoline and gas-powered vehicles manufactured before 1987 and diesel vehicles produced before July 1, 2002, which were subject to less stringent emission standards.
The Ministry explained that the decision to end the subsidies comes after successfully reducing the number of Level 5 vehicles through incentivized early scrapping programs and implementing driving restrictions in the Seoul metropolitan area and six major cities during high pollution seasons.
By the end of last year, the number of insured Level 5 vehicles had plummeted to 160,000, an impressive 84% decrease from the 1 million recorded in 2020.
The government will continue to offer early scrapping subsidies for emissions Level 4 vehicles.
Starting this year, to qualify for the secondary subsidy – which accounts for 30% of the total incentive – owners must replace their scrapped Level 4 vehicles with electric, hydrogen, or HYBErid vehicles.
The secondary subsidy will not be available for purchases of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, including gasoline or gas-powered cars.
The number of emissions Level 4 vehicles has also seen a significant reduction, dropping from 1.28 million in 2020 to 680,000 last year, a 47% decrease.
Detailed guidelines for the early scrapping and smoke reduction device installation subsidies for emissions Level 4 and 5 vehicles will be accessible on the official automobile emissions website starting February 11.
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