Assemblyman Yoon Jae-gap Proposes Amendment to Limit Terms of Non-Executive Chairpersons in Local Agricultural Cooperatives

The Non-Executive Regional Nonghyup Chairman System Has Less Responsibility but Greater Authority Compared to the Executive Chairman...
Misused as a Means for Permanent Chairmanship Domination

Member of the National Assembly Yoon Jae-gap (Photo by Yoon Jae-gap's Office)

[Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Yoon Jae-gap, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Fisheries Committee (Democratic Party, Haenam·Wando·Jindo), has taken the lead in proposing a revision to the 「Agricultural Cooperative Act」 that limits the number of reappointments for non-standing cooperative heads, directors, and auditors of the Nonghyup cooperative to two terms.

The current law stipulates that among the executives of regional Nonghyup cooperatives, only the standing cooperative heads can be reappointed twice.

However, there are no term limits for non-standing cooperative heads, directors, and auditors, allowing them to serve long terms. In fact, among 462 regional Nonghyup cooperatives with non-standing cooperative heads (41.3% of all regional cooperatives), 16.2% of the cooperative heads have served four or more terms, with some serving up to ten terms over 37 years.

The introduction of the non-standing cooperative head system in regional Nonghyup cooperatives aimed to decentralize the authority concentrated in the cooperative heads and entrust the management of regional cooperatives to professional managers to maximize the benefits for cooperative members.

However, in reality, non-standing cooperative heads, directors, and auditors exert influence similar to standing cooperative heads through long-term service, leading to various malpractices such as nepotistic hiring and preferential treatment in contract awards.

Moreover, recently, an incident occurred where a non-standing director of a Nonghyup cooperative in Jangseong assaulted the executive director for not attending lunch after drinking alcohol in the morning, and in Yeongcheon, the election competition for a non-standing director of the Livestock Nonghyup cooperative became overheated, sparking controversies over bribery and entertainment during the election.

In response, Assemblyman Yoon Jae-gap proposed a revision to limit the terms of non-standing cooperative heads, directors, and auditors to two reappointments, just like standing cooperative heads, to promote change and reform in regional Nonghyup cooperatives.

Assemblyman Yoon said, “The cooperative head position has become lifelong and hereditary, with some cooperatives having leaders serving for over 30 years, and the cooperative head often being chosen by the predecessor, exhibiting hereditary behavior. During the recent National Assembly audit of the Nonghyup Central Association, I also urged improvements to the system regarding the reappointment limits for non-standing cooperative heads. I will do everything possible to ensure the revision passes within this year.”

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun alwatros@asiae.co.kr