Korea’s capital intends to invest in more LED lighting for public areas and to encourage further installations in the private sector.

Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced plans to replace lighting in all public areas including subway stations, streets and city government offices with LED lighting by 2018.

According to an article in the Korea Herald, Seoul wants to increase the proportion of LED lighting in both public places and private properties to cut energy consumption and aid the “green” lighting industry.

Seoul city government also said that it will expand the project to the private sector by 2030. It expects that, by 2014, about 800,000 LED lights will be installed in the public sector.

A further 7 million LED lights will be installed in the private sector by 2014. According to Seoul city’s estimates, the changes will save 1100 gigawatts or 120 billion won ($105 million) a year.

The metropolitan government also plans to build a smart lighting grid by 2014, comprising of 1.32 million energy-efficient street lights.

To encourage installations in the private sector, the city will run a loan program offering up to 1 billion won ($0.87 million) with a 2.5 percent interest rate.

About the Author 

Tim Whitaker is an Editorial Consultant with LEDs Magazine.