Chair Ko Young-cheol of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (Shinhyup), just past his 100th day in office, faces the prospect of a criminal complaint from the labor union. The union claims Ko conducted illegal campaign activities by fronting a close associate, a person surnamed Choi. Right after Ko's election, Choi was appointed to a key post at the federation, sparking controversy over "favoring close associates."
According to ChosunBiz reporting compiled on the 9th, the Shinhyup union plans to soon file a criminal complaint with police against Ko for alleged violations of the Act on Entrusted Elections for Public Organizations (Entrusted Elections Act). Choi, a close associate of Ko, was reported to Dunsan Police Station in Daejeon on the same charge in late May.
An official at Dunsan Police Station said, "The incident occurred late last year, but the complaint came in more than half a year later. We plan to proceed quickly with the investigation, including confirming the alleged facts."
The union claims that when Ko was a candidate for the next chair, he directed Choi, then the standing auditor at Gwangju Munhwa Credit Union, to carry out illegal campaign activities. Despite it not being the campaign period, Ko allegedly had Choi approach chairs of local Shinhyup unions nationwide to closely manage them into supporting him.
Local union chairs at Shinhyup exercise direct voting rights in the chair election. Chairs of roughly 800 local unions nationwide elect the chair by vote. Ko won in January with 301 out of 784 total votes (38.4%). A person who violates Article 24 (subject, period, and method of electioneering) of the Entrusted Elections Act can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
Ko also stirred controversy over "favoring close associates" even before his official term began. Ko, who had served as chair of Gwangju Munhwa Credit Union, appointed Choi to the post of planning director at the federation in February, immediately after his election. A Shinhyup union official said, "Ko's term began in March, so he had no personnel authority in February. That is why a formal letter was sent to former Chair Kim Yoon-sik, who then held personnel authority, requesting the appointment of Choi as planning director."
The planning director is considered a key post at the federation and has typically been filled by a long-serving insider. Choi was an external appointee, not a federation employee. When it also became known that he was close to the chair, the union protested with actions including a one-person demonstration. In the end, the federation agreed to go through prior consultation procedures with the union for future director-level appointments.