NongHyup Cooperative Heads Oppose Direct Election of Central President by Members: "Sufficient Public Discussion Needed"

"Farmers' Resolution Rally to Defend the Autonomy of NongHyup" Held in Yeouido

Heads of agricultural cooperatives and farmers from across the country held a rally in Yeouido to oppose the government's proposed amendments to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act. They demanded the withdrawal of the plan to establish an external independent audit body and called for an end to attempts to change the direct election system for the president of the central association by cooperative members.

The Emergency Response Committee for the Amendments to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act announced that it held the "Farmers' Resolution Rally to Defend the Autonomy of NongHyup" in Yeouido on the 21st, with the participation of approximately 20,000 heads of agricultural cooperatives and farmers nationwide.

Exterior view of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. Photo by The Asia Business Daily Database

The cooperative heads and farmers who attended the rally adopted a resolution containing five demands regarding the government's proposed amendments to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act: an immediate halt to governmental control that infringes on the autonomy of NongHyup; the removal of toxic clauses that undermine legal stability; the preservation of cooperative identity through the maintenance of supervisory and management rights over subsidiaries; the withdrawal of the inefficient audit body proposal; and an end to attempts to change the direct election system for the president of the central association by cooperative members.

Previously, NongHyup Central Association conducted an online survey of 1,108 cooperative heads nationwide on April 9th and 10th. Among the 871 respondents, 96.1% opposed introducing a direct election system for the president of the central association by cooperative members. In addition, 96.8% expressed opposition to expanding the direct supervisory powers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and 96.4% opposed the establishment of an external audit body. In response, the cooperative heads expressed concerns in their statement about the legislative process not reflecting on-the-ground realities, urging for sufficient public discussion and procedural legitimacy.

Major national agricultural organizations also participated in the rally and issued a joint statement. These organizations stated, "Excessive regulation and control over NongHyup will ultimately lead to a reduction in support projects for farmers and increase the management burden on farming households," pledging to stand together until the end to protect the livelihood rights of the agricultural sector as a whole.

Park Kyungsik, co-chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, said, "This amendment to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act is intervention, not reform," emphasizing, "Institutional improvements should be achieved through sufficient discussion and public debate, not through a rushed legislative process."

The Emergency Response Committee plans to deliver the resolution adopted at the rally to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

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