Not an Election but 'Money Deal'... 68 Suspects Arrested and 2 Detained for Bribery in Seongseo Nonghyup Non-Executive Director Election

Among 15 Candidates, 13 Provided Money; Among 55 Delegates, 52 Received Money

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yeo Jong-gu] A local agricultural cooperative in Daegu is facing a management crisis as most of its delegates were arrested in a 'bribery election' scandal. During the investigation into bribery, as many as 68 people were arrested, and some suspects were detained.

On the 26th, the Seongseo Police Station in Daegu announced that they arrested a total of 68 people for violating the Agricultural Cooperative Act, including 16 individuals who provided or brokered bribes to delegates for the purpose of electing non-standing directors of the agricultural cooperative, and 52 delegates who received bribes. Among them, 2 were detained.

The election to select 8 non-standing directors of the Seongseo Agricultural Cooperative was held on January 28. The election involved 56 delegates and cooperative heads, each casting 8 votes, with winners determined by majority vote. Out of 15 candidates, 8 were ultimately elected.

The police received a complaint from the Seongseo Agricultural Cooperative Election Commission on February 16, and the Intelligence Team of Seongseo Police Station began an investigation.

According to the police, candidates exploited the fact that each delegate had 8 votes and that a majority was required to win, distributing bribes to many delegates.

Among the 15 candidates running for non-standing director, 13 provided bribes ranging from 2 million to 13.9 million KRW, and among the 55 delegates with voting rights, 52 were confirmed to have received bribes ranging from 200,000 to 4.8 million KRW.

The total amount of bribes uncovered through the investigation was approximately 79.5 million KRW.

The detained suspect A is reported to have provided bribes and flaunted to other candidates that many agricultural cooperative delegates were members of a private group he chaired, receiving bribes from them and passing them on to the delegates.

A police official stated that they will thoroughly investigate major violations such as bribery distribution under a 'zero tolerance policy.'

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