South Korea's carbon emissions rebounded to pre-pandemic levels for the first time in three years amid the country's move toward normalcy.

According to the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, the nation is tentatively estimated to have emitted over 679-point-six million tons of carbon dioxide last year, an on-year increase of three-point-five percent.

This marks the first rebound since the figure saw a steady decline due to COVID-19, after peaking in 2018 at 727 million tons. The increase is largely attributed to a social shift toward pre-pandemic normalcy, which drove up production activities and transportation usage.

Activity in the energy sector, including power generation, manufacturing and transportation, emitted the largest amount of greenhouse gasses at more than 590-million tons, increasing by three-point-six percent from the year before.

The average South Korean emitted over 13 tons last year, a slight rise from 2020.