Policy and status of light pollution management in Korea

Abstract

Light pollution is emerging as one of the most rapidly increasing types of environmental degradation. Many localities have developed regulations to constrain the use of excessive light. Recently, the government of Korea has enacted and executed the 'Light Pollution Prevention Act' for the proper management of light pollution. This paper reviews the background and the main contents of the Act as well as the current status of light pollution in Korea. By this Act, a 'Light Pollution Prevention Committee' is established and the designation of environmental zones and the light emission standards for these zones are given. The contents of this study will be useful as a guideline for developing countries preparing light pollution management plans.

Working with Inadequate Tools: Legislative Shortcomings in Protection against Ecological Effects of Artificial Light at Night

“…Optimized regulation against adverse effects of ALAN would require binding mitigation measures, e.g., similar to the South Korean Light Pollution Prevention Act 2013 [345], but should also offer flexibility as, e.g., provided by British regulations [316]. Furthermore, optimized regulations would restrict light emissions in residential areas and habitat of high diversity such as floodplains or urban green areas, as provided by the regulations in France [301].…”

The Reality of Light Pollution: A Field Survey for the Determination of Lighting Environmental Management Zones in South Korea

“…The prevention act was instated following a number of public complaints about light radiating from advertisement boards, streetlights, etc., trespassing into people's homes at night and disrupting their sleep patterns. The Korean Light Pollution Prevention Act breaks areas down into four environmental zones, which will herein after be referred to as Environmental Management Zones (E zones) [17]. The E zones range from E1, which covers the darkest areas, to E4, the brightest areas.…”

“…Concerns associated with light pollution have thus prompted a legal battle. A number of countries including Korea [17,18], France and Italy [19] have begun dictating lighting level limits through regulations in order to reduce the amount of light pollution. In places like Taiwan, light pollution research and policy is also becoming prevalent [20].…”

New Framework of Sustainable Indicators for Outdoor LED (Light Emitting Diodes) Lighting and SSL (Solid State Lighting)

“…The visibility of the Milky Way and measurements by sky quality meters are included in Table 3 as indicators of light pollution. There are several examples of national or regional initiatives to regulate light pollution, e.g., the Light Pollution Prevention Act in Korea [78]. This establishes environmental zones and "light emission standards", for example maximum permissible luminance or illuminance for different lighting applications and their light reflection.…”

“…Such regulations are very useful for the development of light management plans or light pollution management plans. The Act also specifies negligence fines for violations of the standards [78].…”