The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation said on the 21st it would swiftly accept the "switch to a direct election for the federation president," the core point of contention in the NongHyup Act amendment pushed by the government and the ruling party.
However, it opposed another key issue, the "creation of an external audit committee," and said it would reinforce the internal control system.
Kang Ho-dong, president of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, said in a message released that day titled "A letter to farmer members and the public," "We will actively accept the direct election by members with an open mind and a responsible attitude."
The direct election by members is meaningful in that 1.87 million members directly elect the federation president, thereby strengthening representation. There had been criticism that the previous method, in which 1,100 cooperative heads voted, made it difficult to directly reflect farmers' opinions.
Kang said, "However, there are tasks that must be resolved, including regional conflict, the politicization of NongHyup, and side effects from money-driven elections," adding, "Since excessive election costs lead to a decrease in resources to support members, institutional backing such as introducing a publicly funded election system is urgent."
However, Kang made clear his opposition to creating an external audit committee. He said, "There are concerns that overlapping regulations and increases in personnel and operating costs stemming from creating the audit committee would undermine autonomy and stability across management," adding, "We will thoroughly reinforce internal audit functions and derive the optimal plan through a public discussion process involving academia, farmer groups, and stakeholders."
Kang also said he would push 13 innovation tasks recommended by the NongHyup Reform Committee, including improving governance, strengthening internal controls, and enhancing fairness in executive recommendations.
With NongHyup swiftly accepting the direct election, the legislative process for the related law is expected to pick up speed. The ruling party and the government had originally planned to complete legislation before the June 3 local elections, but processing of the amendment has been delayed amid strong backlash, including protests in Seoul by cooperative heads of agricultural and livestock cooperatives nationwide.