The yellow dust this year in South Korea is as bad as I can remember it ever being and it seems Korean citizens are beginning to take action to do something about it:
Mask-wearing protestors demand the Korean government to come up with measures to reduce air pollution in a rally held in central Seoul on April 2. (Yonhap)
Many believe that while South Korea has had its own air problem, the recent sharp deterioration is mainly due to China, the world’s biggest polluter.
This belief has led to the first civil lawsuit filed by South Korean citizens against the governments of both Korea and China.
Choi Yul, an environmental activist and president of the Korea Green Foundation, and attorney Ahn Kyung-jae filed the suit Wednesday with the Seoul Central District Court, seeking 3 million won ($2,650) each in compensation.
The data on how much of the airborne pollutants in Korea are from China is not seen as reliable.
The Comprehensive Plan on Fine Particulate Matter compiled by several government bodies put the figure at 30-50 percent.
Such figures are estimated using data from Baengnyeongdo, a remote western island.
However, a report from the Munhwa Ilbo uncovered that the decimal point on the published data data collected at Baengnyeongdo over the past two years had been put in the wrong place giving much lower readings than was the case. Officials say they used the correct data in their calculations, and had therefore not underestimated China’s influence, but are coy about releasing the data.
A study leaked from the Ministry of Environment estimated that 86 percent of ultrafine dust particles in Seoul and its surrounding cities on March 21, when the entire country was choked with high dust concentrations, was of Chinese origin.
The ministry confirmed that figure, but has been reluctant to reveal more data on the China factor, claiming a significant portion of the pollutants originate here. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but the Seoul city government did recently release statistics that showed 55% of the air pollution in Seoul was coming from China. The ROK can take measures to reduce pollution domestically, but ultimately it will not matter until they get the Chinese government to do something on their end. Good luck with that.
