Air pollution is now a huge issue in South Korea.<br />Advisories go out with alarming frequency about fine dust clogging the air.<br />According to the OECD, South Korea's air pollution is the fourth worst in the world, and the culprit is coal used for power generation.<br />Seo Bo-bin reports. <br />South Korea was one of the five countries with the worst air pollution in the world in 2017.<br />That's according to a report from the OECD on fine dust pollution.<br />Number one was India, followed by China, Vietnam, South Korea and South Africa.<br />And the OECD says the cause of the pollution is coal used for power generation.<br />South Korea burns coal to generate 46 percent of its electricity,... far higher than the average among OECD countries of 27 percent.<br />The global average is 38 percent. <br />In the case of South Korea, new coal power plants totaling 2 gigawatts are expected to be online next year,... and in 2021 and 2022... another 3 gigawatts.<br />Neighboring China, meanwhile, the source of much of Korea's fine dust, plans to reduce its reliance on coal from the current 67 percent to 55 percent next year.<br />Even though China's cutting coal as a percentage, it's still building new coal plants.<br />A South Korean industry official said that with both countries doing so, it's unlikely that air quality will improve in the next few years.<br />Seo Bo-bin, Arirang News. <br />
