Controversy Over Allegations of 'Special Privileges for a Specific Candidate' in Usan Credit Union Executive Election

Impact of COVID-19... Voting Changed from One Day to Three Days with Extended Hours

Union Members Say "One Day Is Enough for General Election" vs. Executive Team Aims to Minimize Group Infection

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Usan Credit Union in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City is experiencing internal conflict over the executive election.

Some members raised suspicions that the election might be conducted in a way favoring a specific candidate, not only because voting was unusually extended from one day to three days, but also because the decision-making process did not involve cooperation with the election candidates.

According to Usan Credit Union and its members on the 18th, the executive election held once every four years was originally scheduled to take place on the 28th of last month, with voting from 11 a.m. following the general meeting until 5 p.m. the same day.

The election is to select one chairman, one vice chairman, four directors, and two auditors.

However, two days before the election, on the 26th of last month, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, sent a recommendation letter warning that if the general meeting proceeded amid the spread of COVID-19, administrative orders might be issued, causing the schedule to be postponed.

Accordingly, Usan Credit Union held an emergency board meeting on the same day and decided to delay the schedule.

After several meetings between Usan Credit Union and Gwangsan-gu, an emergency board meeting was held on the 12th, deciding to extend the voting period from one day to three days (25th to 27th), and increase the voting hours from the original 4 hours to 21 hours (7 hours per day for 3 days).

Additionally, the voting locations were increased from one place to two, including the Usan Credit Union Suwan Main Branch and the Usan Branch.

The board notified members of this decision by mailing notices on the 13th and posting announcements at each branch.

However, some members raised concerns upon learning about the change in election dates.

They first argued that holding voting over three days could advantage a particular candidate.

One member said, “Since the current chairman is running again for the next term, the executive team holding the member list might monitor daily voter turnout and encourage voting accordingly. The upcoming National Assembly election only takes one day, so I don’t understand the intention behind holding the credit union executive election over three days.”

They also questioned why the election date and location were finalized and announced without any prior discussion with the candidates running for election before the emergency board meeting.

One candidate running in this election stated, “I requested to review the meeting minutes, which any member can do, but despite the election announcement, I was refused on the grounds that the minutes had not been finalized and sealed.” He pointed out, “It is strange to finalize and announce the decision before the minutes are completed.”

In response, the Usan Credit Union executive team dismissed the claim that the election date was set to favor a specific candidate as groundless.

They explained that the postponement of the voting day was unavoidable due to the spread of COVID-19, and that the three-day, two-location voting method was a measure to minimize crowding and infection risks at the event venue.

They also claimed that the election date was finalized after holding a board meeting following final consultation with Gwangsan-gu, and that this was not a matter requiring consultation with candidates, asserting there was no procedural flaw.

However, as the upcoming general election and the number of voting days are clearly compared, the controversy is expected to continue for some time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.