Korea imposes 2-day driving ban for public sector amid Middle East supply risks
The government said Wednesday that starting next week, it will tighten the public sector’s rotating vehicle ban from once in five days to a two-day odd-even schedule to curb energy demand, following the elevation of the crude oil alert to alert amid supply strains caused by the prolonged Middle East conflict. The previous five-day rotation, which has been in effect since March 25, will remain voluntary for the private sector. Under the new system, vehicles in public institutions will be restricted from operating every other business day based on the last digit of their license plate numbers, while public parking lots run by government agencies will continue to follow a separate five-day rotation schedule, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said. The announcement came as Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan chaired the fifth resource security council meeting on the same day, where the government raised the crude oil alert level from caution to alert and natural gas from attention to caution, effective at the start of Thursday, signaling a heightened approach to managing potenti
