A fine dust response system will commence from Friday through March 31 to tackle high concentrations of fine dust particles across South Korea during the spring season.

According to the Ministry of Environment, operations at up to 26 coal-fired power plants nationwide will be suspended. The remaining active power plants will operate below 80 percent capacity.

Fifty-four large-scale businesses that emit more than 30 tons of air pollutant per day will be subject to a weekly on-site inspection.

The number of inspection points for vehicles that emit large amounts of polluting substances, including diesel trucks, will also be expanded from the current 550 to one-thousand-200.

The environment ministry plans to drastically reduce the subsidy for diesel car purchases, while providing an additional 500-thousand won subsidy for electric or hydrogen vehicle purchases.