If One-Fifth of Cooperative Members Agree, General Meeting Possible... Written Resolutions and Meetings Allowed During Disasters

Resolution of Partial Amendment Bill to the Cooperative Basic Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] From now on, if more than one-fifth of the cooperative members agree, members will be able to request the convening of a general meeting of the cooperative and propose agenda items. Written voting and written general meetings due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) will also be permitted.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 5th that it had approved a partial amendment bill to the "Framework Act on Cooperatives" containing these provisions at the Cabinet meeting.

This amendment reflects the key tasks of the 3rd Basic Plan for Cooperatives (2020?2022) and was prepared to strengthen the democratic operation of cooperatives and resolve on-site difficulties.

First, the amendment allows members to request the convening of a general meeting and propose agenda items if more than one-fifth of the cooperative members agree, to activate the internal checks and balances within cooperatives. It also grants directors and auditors the authority to request the convening of board meetings.

In addition, by permitting written voting and written general meetings when members cannot attend due to disasters, the amendment ensures smooth operation of cooperatives even when gatherings are restricted. Currently, cooperative general meetings must be convened and held at a designated place, so decision-making has been limited when large gatherings are impossible due to COVID-19 or other reasons.

The cooperative status survey has also been reorganized. The amendment stipulates that in-depth surveys during the cooperative status survey will be conducted every three years, consistent with the basic plan, and allows requests for information from related agencies such as the National Tax Service annually for status surveys.

Additionally, the amendment clarifies the subjects of cooperative change reports and includes further institutional improvements such as expanding the membership qualification of federations from cooperatives to federations.

A government official stated, "Through this amendment, we expect to facilitate cooperative operations by strengthening democracy in cooperative management and enhance policy effectiveness. We plan to submit the approved amendment to the National Assembly and strive for its prompt passage."

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