Crude Oil Alert Downgraded to 'Caution'... Vehicle Restrictions to Be Lifted

[Anchor]

Starting tomorrow, July 1, the alternate-day no-driving system for public institutions and the five-day rotation system for public parking lots will both be lifted. As energy supply and demand stabilize following the peace agreement between the United States and Iran, the government has downgraded the crude oil resource security crisis alert from 'Alert' to 'Caution.'

Climate and Environment Specialist Reporter Jang Se-man reports.

[Reporter]

Park Ki-woo, who uses public parking lots for work, has struggled every Friday because he could not park his car due to the five-day rotation system.

[Interview] Park Ki-woo / Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do: I cannot use my vehicle on Fridays, and since I often have important appointments and a lot of work during the day, I have found myself in difficult situations many times.

Opinions are divided on whether vehicle restrictions are effective in saving energy, with some questioning their impact and others arguing they should be maintained.

[Interview] Jeon Jin-deok / Yangpyeong-dong, Seoul: Considering the current situation, I think it is inconvenient and I do not really feel the necessity for it.

[Interview] Im Yo-na / Hwagok-dong, Seoul: Even if it is inconvenient for each person, I think it might help lower the Earth's temperature a little bit if we all participate.

As the crude oil resource security crisis alert was downgraded from 'Alert' (Level 3 of 4) to 'Caution' (Level 2), the government decided to lift vehicle operation restrictions starting at midnight tonight.

The alternate-day system implemented for public institutions and the five-day rotation system applied to public parking lots will both be lifted; this marks the end of the restrictions after 98 days for public institutions and 84 days for public parking lots.

[Interview] Moon Shin-hak / Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: In terms of the impact on consumption, there will not be a significant problem even if we do not continue the five-day rotation system.

Initially, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment planned to relax the alternate-day system for public institutions to a five-day rotation system. However, following the President's opinion that it lacked effectiveness, the government decided to fully lift the restrictions for public institutions while encouraging voluntary participation in the five-day rotation system.

The government stated that the vehicle restrictions have saved 160,000 barrels of oil per month, an amount equivalent to fueling 480,000 passenger cars.

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, VJ: Oh Se-kwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.