Suhyup President Marks 1 Year in Office: "We Will Definitely Correct Seafood Distribution"

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Im Juntak, President of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (left)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] "It is the role of the Suhyup to ensure that seafood, harvested at the risk of fishermen's lives, receives its proper value."

On the 24th, Lim Joon-taek, Chairman of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup), who will mark his first anniversary in office on the 26th, expressed his determination by stating, "We will definitely rectify the distribution of seafood, which is unsatisfactory to both fishermen and consumers."

Over the past year, Chairman Lim has focused on resolving the difficulties faced by fishermen and member cooperatives by engaging with the National Assembly and government ministries. As a result, he successfully expanded the income tax exemption benefit for fishermen up to 80 million KRW last year and led institutional improvements such as converting the mutual finance depositor protection fund accumulation method to a target fund system. This has resulted in nearly 20 billion KRW in annual net profit increases for fisheries cooperatives nationwide. Notably, he has also achieved tangible results since his inauguration, including resolving the illegal occupation issue of the old Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, which had been ongoing for over three years.

Entering his second year in office, Chairman Lim has embarked on a full-scale innovation effort. To reform the stagnant seafood distribution sector, he has introduced a two-track strategy: building new infrastructure and improving the existing wholesale transaction system.

Chairman Lim pointed out, "While it will still take considerable time for new infrastructure projects such as the production base distribution centers to yield tangible effects, the dissatisfaction of fishermen and consumers has reached a critical point." At the end of last year, he became the first chairman in history to visit the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market auction site without prior notice, recognizing the need for a strong reform of the existing wholesale transaction system, which has become entrenched around fixed-price sales. At that time, Chairman Lim strongly criticized the stakeholders, saying, "It is the Suhyup's duty to ensure that seafood, harvested at the risk of fishermen's lives, receives its proper value." He emphasized the need to reestablish the wholesale market system centered on auctions, where price determination can be conducted transparently.

To support these economic projects and innovations in seafood distribution, Chairman Lim recently established a dedicated organization, the Management Strategy Office. This office is responsible for strengthening the roles and functions of subsidiaries, including the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, and for formulating development strategies to discover new growth engines for Suhyup. Additionally, it is actively promoting seafood processing and sales expansion as a key pillar of revitalizing economic projects.

For this purpose, the newly established Seafood Food Research Office is tasked with developing strategic products targeting the domestic ready-to-eat meal market and export strategy products for overseas markets. Furthermore, Chairman Lim has expressed his intention to accelerate the repayment schedule of public funds, originally planned through 2028. Although repayments are proceeding faster than initially scheduled, he plans to speed up the process further to quickly transform the business structure so that over 100 billion KRW can be spent annually for the benefit of fishermen. Alongside this, he plans to focus on strengthening accident prevention and safety measures to ensure fishermen can safely engage in their livelihoods.

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