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Busan Metropolitan City to Conduct a Mock Enforcement of Driving Restrictions on Grade 5 Emission Vehicles

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that, in preparation for the 7th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Period (December 2025–March 2026), the city will conduct mock enforcement of driving restrictions on Grade 5 emission vehicles throughout the city.

Grade 5 emission vehicles refer to diesel vehicles manufactured before July 2002 and gasoline/LPG vehicles manufactured before 1987 that do not meet current emission standards.

The Seasonal Fine Dust Management System is a policy designed to mitigate damage and impacts caused by fine dust by implementing stronger reduction measures from December to the following March, when high-concentration fine dust is most frequent.

Since introducing the system in December 2019, Busan has implemented it six times, resulting in an approximate 33% reduction in ultrafine dust concentrations compared to levels before implementation. Over the past five years, Busan has maintained the lowest annual average concentrations of both ultrafine dust and fine dust among the seven major metropolitan cities in Korea.

The mock enforcement will take place in two rounds:

• ●Phase 1: October 13–24, 2025

• ●Phase 2: November 10–21, 2025

During the mock enforcement, no fines will be imposed on violators. However, the city plans to use the occasion to encourage participation in the driving restriction program during the management period and to promote voluntary adoption of low-emission measures.

Driving restrictions will apply on weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., excluding weekends and public holidays. Vehicles such as emergency vehicles, those with disability tags, and those that have completed low-emission retrofits will be exempt.

As of the end of September 2025, there were approximately 29,000 Grade 5 vehicles in Busan that had not yet undergone low-emission modification — a 65% decrease compared to the 90,000 vehicles recorded before enforcement in September 2019.

In addition to the upcoming driving restrictions during the 7th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Period, the city will also strengthen measures such as inspections of illegal emission sources and vehicle emission control enforcement.

To further reduce road dust, Busan will designate 29 major road sections as intensive management zones and increase street cleaning frequency to more than once daily (up to two to four times per day).

Other complementary measures will include:

• ●Stronger inspections of illegal emission sources;

• ●Enhanced vehicle emission checks;

• ●Indoor air quality inspections at multi-use facilities; and

• ●Adding nitrogen oxide (NOx) testing to the diesel vehicle inspection program.

Lee Byeong-seok, Director General of Environmental and Water Policy Bureau, stated,
“This mock enforcement aims to inform citizens about the driving restriction system for Grade 5 emission vehicles before the actual implementation of the Seasonal Fine Dust Management Period,” and added,
“We ask for active cooperation so that Busan — known for having the cleanest air among major metropolitan cities — can continue to protect its signature ‘Clean Air Busan.’”