Vehicle Restrictions Lifted Starting Today; Oil Supply Alert Level Downgraded

[Anchor]

Starting today, July 1, the two-day rotation system for public institution vehicles and the five-day rotation system for public parking lots have been lifted. This follows the government's decision to lower the oil supply security alert level from "Alert" to "Caution," as energy supply conditions have improved following the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.

Climate and Environment Correspondent 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 Province: I couldn't use my car on Fridays, and since I often have important appointments and a lot of work during the day on Fridays, I was often in a difficult situation.

Opinions remain 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 times, I think it is inconvenient and I don't really feel the necessity for it.

[Interview] Im Yo-na / Hwagok-dong, Seoul: Even if it is inconvenient for each individual, I think it might help lower the temperature of the Earth that we all share, even if just a little bit.

As the oil supply security alert level was downgraded from "Alert" (the third of four stages) to "Caution" (the second stage), the government decided to lift vehicle operation restrictions starting today.

The two-day rotation system implemented at public institutions and the five-day rotation system applied to public parking lots have both been 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, it will not cause any major problems even if we do not continue the five-day rotation system.

Initially, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment planned to relax the two-day rotation 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 vehicle restrictions have saved 160,000 barrels of oil per month, an amount equivalent to fueling 480,000 passenger cars.

Reported by Jang Se-man | Video by Shin Se-eun | VJ by Oh Se-gwan
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.