Deokgye and Soju Areas... 2 Billion KRW Intensive Investment
Support for Odor and Air Pollution Control Facilities for Small-Scale Businesses
Yangsan City in Gyeongnam has been selected for the Ministry of Environment's 'Our Neighborhood Clean Air Package Support Project' in 2025, receiving a total project budget of 2 billion KRW, including 1 billion KRW in national funds and 320 million KRW in provincial funds, to support the installation of pollution control facilities for small-scale businesses in the Deokgye and Soju areas.
The Our Neighborhood Clean Air Package Support Project is designed to assist small-scale businesses that require facility investment due to odor emissions but face difficulties in facility improvement because of their small business conditions by supporting the replacement and installation of pollution control facilities.
Previously, budgets were uniformly allocated based on applications submitted by local governments, but starting this year, local governments recognized as needing regional air quality improvement were selected as focused management areas by comprehensively considering factors such as regional air quality, density of small and medium-sized businesses, and impact on nearby residents, following the principle of selection and concentration.
In this public contest, 25 local governments nationwide applied, and after a thorough review of regional conditions, management enthusiasm, and project effectiveness, 15 areas were initially selected. A face-to-face evaluation of the selected local governments was then conducted, and the top five areas with high evaluations were finally chosen.
Yangsan City was selected because it does not have a national industrial complex, with only 11 large-scale business sites, and is located between Busan and Ulsan, where small businesses such as the 2nd and 3rd tier bands of the shipbuilding and automobile industries account for 90% of the total. Due to rapid industrial urbanization, residential and industrial areas are mixed, raising concerns about residents' health issues, which recognized the urgency of facility improvement through support projects.
Additionally, this public contest project achieved good results thanks to the active interest and collaboration of Yangsan City with local district National Assembly member Kim Tae-ho, provincial council members, and others regarding air quality improvement.
Yangsan City has supported 285 business sites with a budget of approximately 18.5 billion KRW through small-scale business pollution control facility installation support projects and metropolitan-level air quality improvement support projects from 2020 to 2024, and this year, it will invest a total project cost of 2 billion KRW to support the installation of pollution control facilities for small-scale businesses.
The public contest project is scheduled to proceed by receiving applications from small-scale businesses wishing to apply through a public announcement after budget allocation around March this year. If general pollution control facilities such as filtration and adsorption facilities are installed, support of up to 270 million KRW can be received, and if pollution control facilities such as RTO or RCO are installed, support of up to 560 million KRW is available.
Mayor Na Dong-yeon said, “We will promptly promote the project to improve the living environment of residents who have suffered from odors in the Deokgye and Soju areas and establish the image of Yangsan as a clean city,” adding, “We expect this project to be a significant turning point in solving the odor problem.”
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