South Korea partly revised noise and vibration control act to strengthen noise control for cars and motorcycles

The Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea announced that it enacted the partial amendment (June 2023) to the Noise and Vibration Control Act on June 14, 2024. In order to strengthen the noise control for vehicles (cars and motorcycles), the revised Act has made it mandatory for municipalities to conduct occasional inspections for violation of noise standards, which were voluntarily conducted before. The occasional inspection results must be reported semiannually to the Minister of the Environment. In addition, to ensure effectiveness of such inspections, the revise version has also made it possible to request the police and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, a specialized agency, to conduct joint inspections.

Meanwhile, MOE also partly revised the Enforcement Rules of the Noise and Vibration Control Act mandating for municipalities to input the results of conducted occasional inspections into a dedicated system called “noise information computer network” (available at: mecar.or.kr) managed by the Korean Environment Corporation, an agency operating under MOE, by the 15th of the following month from the last day of the semi-annual period so that enforcement results can be managed systematically.