The Democratic Party of Korea and the government said on Apr. 1 they would revamp the election system so that the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation chair is chosen by a direct vote of 1.87 million members. Currently, it is an indirect election in which 1,110 cooperative heads vote on behalf of members.
Some voiced concern that a chair elected by direct vote could wield stronger authority than before. The post could carry the representation of a "farmers' president," as it would be chosen by farmers' votes. In response, the government decided to prepare safeguards to limit the chair's powers.
That day, the ruling party and the government held a party-government consultative meeting and decided to amend the NongHyup Act to change the chair election method from an indirect vote by cooperative heads to a direct vote by members.
Since its launch in 1961, the federation has elected its chair by vote starting in 1990. The election system then changed twice. Initially, cooperative heads nationwide elected the chair; later, delegates, who are representative cooperative heads by region, conducted the indirect vote; and then it switched back to election by cooperative heads. Incumbent Chair Kang Ho-dong was elected in 2024 by a vote of cooperative heads.
◇ After giving voting rights to cooperative heads, the chair granted personnel and fiscal favors
Introducing a direct election by members is unprecedented in the federation's history. Until now, it had not been adopted due to concerns that a direct vote would require too much election expense and time. There was also an opinion that a cooperative head directly elected by farmers could adequately represent farmers' intentions.
However, in past elections held indirectly, critics said side effects emerged in which the chair, after receiving votes from cooperative heads with voting rights, granted personnel favors after taking office or funneled interest-free funds—whose allocation is at the chair's discretion—amounting to a kind of payback.
According to an audit by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in 2024, the interest-free fund support for 1,052 general NongHyup cooperatives averaged 12.17 billion won per cooperative, up 7.6% from the previous year. Yet the interest-free funds allocated to 18 cooperatives whose heads concurrently served as directors of the federation totaled 18.1 billion won, a jump of 26.3%.
◇ "Direct elections may add 19 billion won in election expenses"
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs estimates that introducing a direct vote for the chair would cost about 17 billion to 19 billion won in election expenses. Currently, elections for cooperative heads, held once every four years, cost about 27 billion won, so additional expenses would arise. A ministry official said, "We plan to hold the chair election and the cooperative head election together to reduce election expenses."
A person familiar with NongHyup said, "If the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation chair is elected by a direct vote of all members (1.87 million), the chair's status could become formidable," adding, "If the control system does not function properly, there is a high likelihood of power abuse." Another person said, "With a direct vote, candidates with higher name recognition have an advantage, so former politicians may run," adding, "If that happens, NongHyup's politicization will accelerate."
In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to prepare safeguards to limit the chair's powers. It plans to reconsider the structure in which the chair concurrently serves as the board chair. It is also reviewing ways to toughen candidacy requirements for the chair election. Currently, to run for chair, a candidate must be a member and receive recommendations from 50 cooperative heads.