서울시, 미세먼지 대책 발표…“7월부터 5등급車 운행 통제”

With the fine dust problem continuing to grip the nation… Seoul City has announced new measures to try and tackle the issue.
Citizens, however, are continuing to call for more active countermeasures.
Kim Mok-yeon has this report.
With March recording the worst fine dust pollution on record in Seoul, the city government unveiled a list of measures it will take to try and tackle the issue.
Compared to 2016, the fine dust and ultra-fine dust problem has worsened at concerning levels, especially in densely populated areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi-do Province.
In a bid to combat the problem,... high-emission vehicles wilI be restricted from entering the center of Seoul beginning in July.
Seoul City also plans to cooperate with private delivery companies to replace about 100,000 motorcycles by 2025 and distribute 1,000 electric motorcycles to franchises by the end of this year.
Mid-sized town buses that run on diesel and school buses for young children will also gradually be switched to electric buses.
The city also plans to cut household emissions by replacing 900,000 old heaters with eco-friendly models by 2022.
However, concerned citizens say that this is not enough.
"Citizens gathered in front of Seoul's Gwanghwamun square on Monday afternoon, calling for the government to come up with more concrete measures to tackle the nation's worst-ever fine dust crisis."
Participants, who are mostly part of an online community calling for action against fine dust, said that they came to the rally so that their voices could better be heard.
"The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check the fine dust levels. I hope the government can adopt the measures they announced as soon as possible."

"I think there is progress on reduction efforts, but I believe more could be done so that my children can live in a country where they can breathe freely.
"The government's measures seem very helpful but I think we need to come up with a fundamental solution and find the root of the problem."
Although acknowledging the government's efforts to cope with the fine dust issue, concerned citizens continue to call for more agressive steps in hopes of clearing South Korean skies.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.