Korea Faces Scrutiny After 97% of Air Emissions Violations Draw Improvement Orders
Government data disclosed by a lawmaker showed that improvement orders accounted for 97 percent of penalties issued in 1,520 cases where industrial facilities exceeded air-pollutant limits, prompting calls for tougher enforcement against serious and repeated violations.
South Korea’s enforcement of industrial air-pollution rules is facing scrutiny after government data showed that nearly all detected breaches of emissions limits over the past several years resulted in improvement orders rather than operational suspensions.
According to data obtained from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment by Democratic Party lawmaker Eo Kiy-ku, authorities identified 1,520 cases in which facilities exceeded permitted air-pollutant levels from 2021 through August 2026. Improvement orders were issued in 1,475 cases, or 97 percent of the total, while 31 cases, representing 2 percent, led to suspensions of operations.
The figures have raised questions about whether the current penalty structure provides a sufficient deterrent when hazardous substances are released at levels far above legal thresholds. At one factory in North Chungcheong Province, chloroform was detected in 2021 at 50.28 parts per million, about 10.1 times the permitted level. Another factory in the province emitted dichloromethane at 444.06 parts per million, roughly 8.9 times the limit. Both facilities received improvement orders.
Eo said the outcome reflected the way existing rules treat emissions breaches caused by defective or malfunctioning facilities outside specially designated control areas. Under the framework he described, authorities may issue improvement orders for the first three violations and impose a suspension only on the fourth. That structure can allow even a severe initial breach to avoid an immediate shutdown.
The disclosure also pointed to concerns over repeated noncompliance. One workplace reportedly received improvement orders each time despite being caught exceeding hazardous-substance limits on five occasions. Eo called for authorities to examine whether enhanced penalties for repeat offenders had been omitted and whether ordered improvements were actually completed.
The issue sits at the intersection of environmental regulation, workplace oversight and public health. Chloroform and dichloromethane are industrial chemicals whose emissions are regulated because exposure can pose health risks. The newly disclosed enforcement record is likely to intensify debate over whether penalties should reflect not only the number of prior violations but also the scale and potential danger of an individual breach.
Eo argued that repeated violations and emissions many times above legal limits should not receive treatment that could be seen as a routine administrative correction. The figures may increase pressure on the government to review inspection follow-up, repeat-offender records and the thresholds for suspending operations.