ㅇ Reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by developing technology that allows the moderate use of fertilizers and by offering fertilizer prescriptions. To this end, increase the number of crops subject to soil testing-based fertilizer prescriptions from 235 in 2024 to 246 in 2025. Also, operate 162 testing centers and offer relevant training* to improve the fertilizer prescription system**.
* Training on fertilizer prescriptions is offered to over 65,000 individuals every year.
** The number of soil tests is expected to increase from 580,000 in 2023 to 600,000 in 2024, and the number of fertilizer prescriptions from 750,000 in 2023 to 780,000 in 2024.

ㅇ Develop eco-friendly, organic farming supplies to reduce the use of pesticides and trial them on site by 2026. These include organic farming materials to manage hard-to-kill pests such as stinkbugs, new supplies based on biological control agent plants such as insect flowers, and organic farming inputs made of biochar (capable of separating carbon in soil) to prevent clubroot in cabbage.

ㅇ Drive change in consumer behavior by developing guidelines on the production and use of reusable containers designed to cut down on disposable plastics, by introducing certification for rental and cleaning services for reusable containers, and by using nudges (e.g. giving the option to choose reusable containers on delivery apps and awarding cash points to tumbler users).

ㅇ Increase the recycling rate of separately collected plastics. Reduce primary plastic production by improving the evaluation criteria for materials and packaging structure, and by reforming the recycling subsidy scheme to encourage the recycling of high-quality materials and chemical recycling.

ㅇ Expand the Korea Eco-Label certification program for products made from recyclates to include detergent containers and electronics packaging, and strengthen the recyclate ratio criteria for existing products, with the goal of fostering the industry and market for recyclates and plastic substitutes.

ㅇ Reduce waste generation by encouraging the uptake of certified buoys and biodegradable fishing gear, by introducing a deposit-refund scheme for the purchase of fishing gear in 2024 aimed at improving the management of ghost gear, and by collecting ghost gear on river banks prior to the flood season.

ㅇ Focus waste collection efforts on vulnerable coastal areas, uninhabited islands, tetrapods and other overlooked sites and establish a public collection system for recyclable marine waste.

ㅇ Encourage citizen-driven initiatives to reduce and manage marine waste, such as a beach clean-up campaign open to anyone.

	Baseline (2021)	Target by year 2025	Target by year 2030
Reducing household plastic waste generation	4.8 mil. metric tons/year	3.9 mil. metric tons/year	3.5 mil. metric tons/year
Reducing marine plastic waste generation	67,000 metric tons /year	44,000 metric tons/year	27,000 metric tons/year

ㅇ Ensure the systematic management of non-point source pollution from rainfall to control river water quality by developing the fourth Comprehensive Plan on Non-Point Pollutants Management (2026 – 2030) in 2025, and revise the Master Plan on the Monitoring Network for Non-Point Pollutants in 2024.

ㅇ Establish water quality monitoring centers in the water system of all four major rivers in the ROK to detect unregulated pollutants and enable preemptive response, and control industrial water discharge by building and maintaining new public wastewater facilities to ensure the proper treatment of wastewater discharged from industrial complexes and agro-industrial complexes.

ㅇ Continue with ongoing research to study the contribution of discharged water from sewage treatment facilities to algae blooms that began in 2023, and consider introducing more stringent total nitrogen (T-N) discharge limits in 2026.

ㅇ Develop master and implementation plans for the TPLM of specially-managed sea areas* for each sea area; execute these plans and assess their performance.
* Sea areas that are unable to maintain the marine environmental standards or have obstacles that significantly hinder conservation of the marine environment and ecosystems
- Adjust the allowed pollution loads for development projects in coastal areas, prepare pollutant reduction plans, raise public awareness about the TPLM system, and create and convene a consultative body comprising of representative from the private and public sectors, industry and academia.
- Merge the technical guidelines for TPLM across different sea areas into a single set of guidelines in 2024 to improve the institutional framework for the effective management of land-based sources of pollution in specially-managed sea areas.