Sejong, July 04 - On June 30, the Ministry of Environment (ME, Minister Han Wha-jin) promulgated an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Clean Air Conservation Act, which improved and supplemented the current system. The revision includes managing gas heat pumps (GHPs)1 by stages as air pollutant emitting facilities and extending the period of mandatory operation of low emission vehicles (LEVs) for which purchase subsidies are provided.

The key points of the revision are as follows. 

<① Managing GHPs by stages as air pollutant emitting facilities >

From January 1, 2023, GHPs shall be managed as air pollutant emitting facilities, and the permissible standards for nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and total hydrocarbons (THC) emitted from the pumps shall be newly established. However, GHPs installed and operated before the enforcement date of the Act, considering the preparation period for low-emission measures such as the attachment of a control device to comply with the standards, are given two years of leniency. To this end, the Act shall apply to start on January 1, 2025. Moreover, GHPs that reduce air pollution to less than 30% of the permissible standards or those attached with reduction devices recognized by the Ministry of Environment will be excluded from the air pollutant emitting facilities list. 

In consultation with the concerned authorities, such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment plans to implement supportive measures such as attaching reduction devices for reducing air pollutants generated by the currently operating GHPs from 2023. In 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education, and the Offices of Education are attaching reduction devices to the selected 1,100 GHPs in schools as a pilot project.  

<② Extension of mandatory operations period of low emission vehicles (electric/hydrogen vehicles)>

To ensure that the subsidies for purchasing LEVs are effectively executed,  the mandatory operating period for subsidized LEVs shall be extended from two to five years. In particular, the LEVs to be exported shall be applied with the new subsidy recovery rate based on the five years, while the rest shall be applied with the same preexisting rate. This revision is expected to increase the period of operation of subsidized LEVs in Korea and contribute to developing a new industry that recycles electric vehicles after use. The contents of this revision shall be first applied to the subsidy application on June 30, 2022, when the amendment to the Enforcement Decree is enforced.

Park Yeon-jae, the Director-General of Air Quality Policy Bureau, stated, "This revision of the subordinate legislation is capable of reducing substances causing ultrafine dust emitted from the GHPs of cooling and heating devices in everyday life. We will continue to make efforts to reduce ultrafine dust in everyday life so that the public may feel experience the changes." 

1 Cooling and heating devices that drive refrigeration compressors (outdoor units of air-conditioners driven via refrigeration cycle method) using engines with liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

2 ( ): Exclusion criteria for reporting as air pollutant emitting facilities