With the election for the next president of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup) coming up in February next year, the field of potential candidates is slowly taking shape. So far, four cooperative heads have officially declared their bids. The biggest swing factor is the "direct election for the Suhyup president," a bill currently introduced by the ruling party. If the presidential election, which has been conducted through an electoral college until now, shifts to a direct vote, observers say a cooperative head from Honam, which has the largest number of members, is likely to benefit.
According to the financial sector on the 9th, the cooperative heads who have declared their candidacies for next year's Suhyup presidential election are four, in Korean alphabetical order: Kim Mi-ja, head of the Seogwipo Suhyup (third term); Kim Cheong-ryong, head of the Mokpo Suhyup (third term); Oh Si-hwan, head of the Ulsan Suhyup (third term); and Choi Pil-jong, head of the Anchovy Drift Net Suhyup (first term).
They are said to have recently met with Suhyup President No Dong-jin to express their intention to run. Inside Suhyup, given careers and cooperative sizes, talk is that it will effectively be a three-way race among Kim Mi-ja, Kim Cheong-ryong, and Oh Si-hwan.
With the vote about six months away, the biggest focus among Suhyup officials is whether there will be a shift to a direct election. Under the existing system, the heads of 91 local cooperatives nationwide voted in an electoral college. However, Rep. Joo Cheol-hyeon of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced on the 27th of last month a "Fisheries Cooperatives Act amendment" that would grant voting rights to all members.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation is also set to switch to a direct election from 2028, with 1.87 million members nationwide directly electing the president. An industry official said, "Suhyup and NongHyup are separate organizations, but if NongHyup adopts a direct election, Suhyup won't have much justification to maintain an electoral college. Suhyup has just over 150,000 total members, so the transition to a direct vote would be much easier than for NongHyup."
The National Credit Union Federation, launched in 1962, began using an electoral college—where local cooperative heads exercise voting rights—starting with the 14th presidential election in 1990 and has maintained it to this day. Of the 10 presidents elected through the electoral college, eight were from Gyeongsang Province, except for the 14th President Hong Jong-mun (Gangwon Province) and the 20th President Cha Seok-hong (Jeolla Province).
Analysts say this is because local cooperatives are concentrated in Gyeongsang Province. By region, the number of local cooperatives is as follows: ▲ Gyeongsang (North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, Busan) 35 ▲ Jeolla (North Jeolla, South Jeolla) 24 ▲ Gangwon 9 ▲ Seoul–Gyeongin 8 ▲ Chungcheong 8 ▲ Jeju 7.
If the Suhyup presidential election shifts to a direct vote, candidates from Honam are expected to benefit the most. The number of members in North Jeolla and South Jeolla exceeds 60,000, about 40% of Suhyup's total membership. By region, South Jeolla has the most members with 48,167, followed by ▲ South Gyeongsang (29,883) ▲ South Chungcheong (22,890) ▲ North Jeolla (13,782) ▲ Jeju (11,876) ▲ Seoul–Gyeongin (11,816) ▲ North Gyeongsang (7,215) ▲ Busan (4,654) ▲ Gangwon (4,480).
For this reason, if a direct vote is adopted, Kim Cheong-ryong, head of the Mokpo Suhyup, is viewed as having an advantage. Born in 1964 and originally from JINDO, South Jeolla, Kim is in his third term as the Mokpo Suhyup head. He is credited with strong execution, having recently led a joint investment by Suhyup to establish a joint venture dedicated to processing and distributing dried gim (laver), stabilizing the supply of raw seaweed and building a hygienic processing system.
Kim Mi-ja, head of the Seogwipo Suhyup, is vying to become the first woman president in Suhyup's history. She plans to actively provide financial support to cooperatives in difficult circumstances. Oh Si-hwan, head of the Ulsan Suhyup, has long mediated on the ground disputes over protecting Ulsan's fishing rights and the development of renewable energy such as wind power. Based on this experience, he said he will help fishers through field-centered fisheries policies.