환경부가 4등급 경유차 조기폐차를 지원하여 2023년 8만5,000대 신청 성과를 기록했으며, 2024년 지원 물량을 확대해 대기질 개선과 주민 건강 보호에 적극적으로 나설 것이라 전했다.
Grade 4 diesel vehicles, 1,136,000 units by the end of 2022 → 985,000 units by the end of November 2023
Ministry of Environment, Expands Early Scrapping Support for Class 4 Diesel Vehicles to 105,000 Vehicles… Additional Support for Small Business Owners, etc. The Ministry of Environment announced that it has recorded 85,000 applications in 2023 for its support for the early scrapping of Class 4 diesel vehicles, and that it will actively work to improve air quality and protect the health of residents by expanding the amount of support in 2024.
The Ministry of Environment announced on the 29th that owners of approximately 85,000 vehicles participated in the application for early scrapping of diesel vehicles with emission grade 4, which was first introduced in February 2023.
Owners of these vehicles will receive scrappage subsidies from local governments based on the value of their vehicles, up to a limit of 8 million won.
The Ministry of Environment has expanded the early scrapping support target, which was previously only provided to diesel vehicles with emission grade 5, to include vehicles with emission grade 4 starting in 2023.
Initially, this year, we planned to support early scrapping of 70,000 Class 4 diesel vehicles, but due to a higher-than-expected participation rate, we increased the support scale to 85,000 vehicles.
Thanks to this early scrapping support, the number of Class 4 diesel vehicles is decreasing.
At the end of 2022, the number of Class 4 diesel vehicles (insured) in operation nationwide was approximately 1,136,000, but as of the end of November 2023, the number decreased by approximately 151,000 (including natural attrition), recording 985,000 units.During the same period, the number of low-emission, non-measure Grade 5 diesel vehicles decreased by about 120,000 units from 409,000 to 289,000.
Class 4 diesel vehicles are vehicles that were manufactured from January 1, 2006 to August 31, 2009 and are subject to the Euro 4 emission standards. Compared to Class 3 vehicles, they emit five times more ultrafine dust (PM 2.5) and twice more nitrogen oxides.
As the number of Class 4 diesel vehicles decreases, the effect of reducing air pollutants such as ultrafine dust and nitrogen oxides increases relatively, helping improve air quality and protect residents' health.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment has strengthened early scrapping support for small business owners and economically vulnerable groups (basic livelihood security recipients and low-income classes).

▲Early scrapping subsidy maximum amount and subsidy rate (Image source: Ministry of Environment)
Starting in 2023, if small business owners or economically vulnerable groups participate in early scrapping, an additional KRW 1 million will be provided in addition to the basic subsidy based on the vehicle price.
As a result of the support, the number of applications for early scrapping of vehicles owned by small business owners and economically vulnerable groups, which was only about 2,000 last year, increased significantly to about 28,000 in 2023, about 13 times.
The Ministry of Environment plans to expand the number of early scrapping support vehicles for Class 4 diesel vehicles to 105,000 next year and continue to provide additional support to small business owners and economically vulnerable groups.
Jeong Seon-hwa, the director of the Ministry of Environment's Air Quality Policy Bureau, said, "We will ensure that support for early scrapping of old diesel vehicles is carried out without a hitch in 2024 as well," and "small business owners and economically vulnerable groups will also be able to apply for early scrapping without difficulty."He said, “We will support the catalog.”