Choked by China: South Korea Battles Rising Carbon Monoxide Levels

A U.S. research team has revealed that an alarming amount of carbon monoxide, a pollutant originating from China, has infiltrated South Korea beyond the country’s control. The researchers stated that most of the carbon monoxide that entered South Korea originated from China’s domestic market.

According to the scientific and technological community, on the 13th, the research team led by Sandy Dall’erba, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, published these findings in the international academic journal Economic Systems Research.

The team analyzed Chinese emissions and air simulations, explaining that the amount of carbon monoxide infiltrating South Korea from China between 1990 and 2014 reached a peak of 10.6 teragrams (Tg, 1 trillion grams). They added that, despite South Korea reducing its carbon monoxide emissions by 0.8Tg during this period, the amount of infiltrated pollutants was overwhelmingly high.

“It’s not a small increase,” Dall’erba said, concluding that “South Korea has effectively lost control over air quality.”

Carbon monoxide is an air pollutant produced by incomplete combustion. It is one of the substances that severely affects health, and it is emitted by outdated factories and car exhausts.

The research team analyzed the global supply chain in connection with these pollutants to examine the responsibility for emissions when they travel overseas through the atmosphere. For example, when a product made in one country is exported abroad, the air pollutants produced during its production are the responsibility of both the manufacturing and importing countries.

Based on this, the team analyzed the origin of the carbon monoxide from China that infiltrated South Korea. They concluded that it mainly comes from producing goods to satisfy China’s domestic market.

Even considering the reduction in emissions due to overseas demand and technological advancements, the increase in China’s population and national consumption during this period was significantly larger. The team designated South Korea as a major country for separate analysis in this study, along with the U.S., Europe, and China.

Dall’erba pointed out, “South Korea has taken several measures to reduce air pollution in recent years, but air quality has deteriorated. Considering that many Chinese products target U.S. and European consumers, it’s crucial to determine who should be held responsible for the increase in pollution in South Korea.”