Yongin City Launches Full-Scale Winter Fine Dust Reduction Measures

Establishment of Implementation Plan for 'Fine Dust Seasonal Management System'
Promotion of 23 Tasks Including Restriction on Operation of Grade 5 Vehicles

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province is stepping up measures to reduce fine dust during the winter season. On the 3rd, Yongin City announced that it has established the '6th Fine Dust Seasonal Management Plan' to reduce fine dust and will implement it from this month until March next year.

The fine dust seasonal management system is a strengthened emission reduction measure implemented every year from December to March of the following year, when fine dust concentrations are high due to seasonal factors. It has been in effect since 2019.

An electronic display board on a road in Yongin City is showing a notice about the implementation of the seasonal management system to reduce fine dust during winter. Provided by Yongin City

This year, the city aims to achieve an ultrafine dust concentration of 26㎍/㎥ during the seasonal management period and will promote 23 tasks across five sectors: ▲transportation ▲industry ▲citizen health protection ▲departmental cooperation ▲public sector.

In the transportation sector, restrictions on the operation of Grade 5 emission vehicles will be enforced, along with emission reduction, support for eco-friendly vehicles, and frequent inspections of vehicle emissions (idling). The restriction on Grade 5 emission vehicles will apply on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., excluding weekends and public holidays, until March next year. Violators will be fined 100,000 KRW.

In the industrial sector, the city plans to intensively crack down on illegal emissions of air pollutants from workplaces and strengthen monitoring of illegal fine dust emissions using personnel dedicated to fine dust surveillance.

To protect citizen health, the city will check fine dust response measures at facilities used by sensitive and vulnerable groups such as infants and the elderly, and conduct special inspections on the proper operation of air and ventilation purification equipment in multi-use facilities such as subway stations. In areas designated as fine dust intensive management zones, including Pungdeokcheon 2-dong, Singal-dong, and Baegam-ri and Geunchang-ri in Baegam-myeon, the city will provide response and prevention education and conduct special inspections on the proper operation of fine dust reduction facilities.

To reduce road re-suspended dust, the city has designated 11 sections totaling 23.5 km as intensive management roads and will clean road surfaces using street sweepers at least twice a day, two to four days a week. In the Cheoin-gu Kimryangjang-dong area, an automatic road surface washing system that sprays reclaimed urban water will be pilot-installed and operated.

To eradicate illegal burning in rural areas, the city will conduct outreach education for farmers and operate three shredding support teams to help properly dispose of agricultural residues.

The city has especially signed agreements with 10 large construction sites within its jurisdiction to reduce fine dust. Participating construction companies include SK Ecoplant, Doosan Construction, Hanwha Construction, Samsung C&T, Kolon Global, Hyundai Engineering, Hyundai Construction, POSCO E&C, Shin Samho, and Pine Construction. According to the agreements, during fine dust emergency reduction measures, construction activities that may generate large amounts of dust will be rescheduled or shortened as much as possible, and dedicated environmental personnel will be assigned to strengthen dust management around construction site entrances and exits. The use of old construction machinery that has not undergone low-emission measures will be gradually restricted, and water trucks will be used to clean roads near construction sites.

During the seasonal management period, the city will improve operations by conducting regular inspections of municipal waste incineration facilities to reduce sources of fine dust and will implement a two-day vehicle operation system for administrative and public institutions when emergency fine dust reduction measures are issued.

A city official stated, "Due to weather influences, there is a high possibility of high-concentration fine dust this winter, so we have prepared high-intensity fine dust reduction measures," and added, "We ask citizens to actively participate so that we can create a city free from fine dust worries."