Yongin City - Licensed Real Estate Agents Association 'Midnight Signboard Lights Out' Agreement
Mayor Lee Sang-il: "A Step Closer to Carbon Neutrality"
From now on, real estate agencies in the Yongin area of Gyeonggi Province will turn off outdoor signs after business hours.
On the 5th, Yongin City announced that on the 3rd, it signed a business agreement for 'Participation in Turning Off Real Estate Nighttime Signs' with three district branches of the Korea Association of Realtors at the mayor's reception room.
At the "Certified Real Estate Agent Nighttime Signboard Extinguishing Agreement Ceremony" held on the 3rd in the reception room of Yongin City Hall, Lee Sang-il (fifth from the left), mayor of Yongin, is holding the agreement document with the heads of the three district branches of the Korea Certified Real Estate Agents Association in Yongin. Photo by Yongin City
This agreement was made with the purpose of voluntarily reducing the operation of outdoor advertisements after business hours by brokerage offices in the district to reduce unnecessary power waste and participate in energy saving, aiming for the early achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050. The signing ceremony was attended by Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, Ryu Ki-chan, President of the Cheoin Branch of the Korea Association of Realtors, Song Young-oh, President of the Giheung Branch, and Jeong Sang-rak, President of the Suji Branch.
According to the agreement, the three district branches will reduce the operation time of nighttime outdoor advertisements by 5 hours per day and actively cooperate to practice carbon neutrality by 2050. The city also decided to actively guide brokerage offices participating in the campaign to receive incentives called 'Carbon Neutrality Points' of up to 80,000 KRW per year provided by the Ministry of Environment if they reduce their electricity bills.
According to the city, there are currently 2,173 real estate agencies operating in the district, each operating at least two outdoor advertisements. The city expects that even if these agencies reduce the advertisement operation time by 5 hours from the current 6 a.m. to midnight to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., it will reduce annual electricity consumption by 6,966 MWh, saving about 1.2 billion KRW in electricity costs. The reduction in carbon emissions is also estimated to be 2,953 tons annually, which is equivalent to planting 300,000 25-year-old pine trees.
Mayor Lee said, "I hope that more people will make efforts to overcome the climate crisis and take one step closer to carbon neutrality through this agreement," adding, "It would be great if other cities also sign similar agreements and turn off signs during unnecessary hours."
Ryu Ki-chan, President of the Cheoin Branch, said, "Participating in turning off nighttime signs is something that must be done not for others but for ourselves," and added, "I am glad that the Korea Association of Realtors can take the lead in participating."
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