The government said on the 9th that it will ask police to investigate National Agricultural Cooperative Federation President Kang Ho-dong on suspicion of embezzlement and bribery. A government audit found that an executive of the NongHyup Foundation siphoned off 490 million won in project funds and gave gifts to cooperative heads, members, and executives and employees who helped Kang win the election. It was also found that Kang received a 10-don gold key worth 5.8 million won from some cooperative heads on the first anniversary of his inauguration.
That day, the government announced the results of a special audit of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, its subsidiaries, and member cooperatives. Earlier, the National Assembly raised suspicions of election corruption and poor management at NongHyup. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted a special audit in Nov.–Dec. last year. For matters requiring further review, a joint government investigation team conducted an additional probe for about a month starting on Jan. 26. A government official said, "Widespread illegality and abuse of power by NongHyup's key executives, preferential loans and contracts, and lax budget execution occurred, and this is because internal controls did not function and the election system is vulnerable to money."
The government said it asked police to investigate 14 cases with significant potential illegality. Three of them are related to current president Kang Ho-dong. According to the government, an executive A at the NongHyup Foundation was found to have siphoned off 490 million won in foundation project funds by falsifying expenditure supporting documents for 2024–2025. The money was said to have been used to buy gifts for local agricultural cooperative heads and members and for executives and employees of NongHyup affiliates who helped Kang get elected. Accordingly, the government asked police to investigate Kang and A on suspicion of embezzlement.
Kang also faces a charge of violating the anti-graft law for receiving a 10-don gold key in Feb. last year, the first anniversary of his inauguration, from a local cooperative operations committee. In addition, another central federation executive was found to have spent 100 million won in publicity expenses in 2024 to block a media outlet from reporting a story about alleged bribery related to Kang's election. The government asked police to investigate that executive on suspicion of breach of trust.
The government also confirmed that the NongHyup Foundation sent 10 billion won as a time deposit in Mar.–Apr. last year to Yulgok NongHyup in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang, where Kang served as cooperative head for 18 years. It was found that over the past five years the NongHyup president and vice president and the heads of affiliates paid 7.5 billion won in job performance awards, a type of bonus, to specific cooperatives and departments without objective evaluation. During this period, 44 member cooperatives with executives received an average of 10 million won each in such awards, while the remaining 732 member cooperatives received an average of 3 million won.
Meanwhile, the government also pointed out that the severance pay for the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation president is 320 million won, excessively high compared with other cooperatives. The credit union federation president has no separate severance pay, and the severance pay for the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives president and the National Forestry Cooperative Federation president is at the same level as regular employees, it said. The government also said Kang signed a lease for an official residence with a 1.2 billion won jeonse deposit, which violates the internal jeonse deposit limit of 500 million won.