Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Corporation Launched ... Appointment of President Kim Sang-deok

Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Management Corporation, after about a year of preparation for its establishment, held a plaque unveiling ceremony at 2 p.m. on the 5th at the Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market Corporation building in Maechon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, attended by Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, Kim Sang-deok, President of Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Management Corporation, and others, officially launching the corporation.

Opened in 1988, the Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market is a large-scale wholesale market boasting the third largest transaction volume among 34 public wholesale markets nationwide (1.1 trillion KRW in 2022). However, it has faced difficulties in adapting to changes in the distribution environment and professional operational management.

Location map of the Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market relocation site.

Accordingly, Daegu City established a basic plan for the corporation's establishment in December 2022, completed administrative procedures for the corporation's establishment through feasibility review services by the Local Public Enterprise Evaluation Institute, public hearings, and consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and in November 2023, the Daegu City Council passed the ordinance and establishment consent for the corporation.

The Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Management Corporation consists of six executives, including the president, non-standing directors, and auditors. After registering the corporation's establishment on December 28 last year, it will hold its first board meeting and official launch ceremony on the 5th.

Daegu City invested 448.9 billion KRW in capital, including 1 billion KRW in cash and 447.9 billion KRW in kind, and the organization and workforce will operate with one division, one office, five teams, and 68 employees.

Kim Sang-deok (51), appointed as the corporation's president, is evaluated as a suitable candidate with expertise in the online agricultural and marine products market and distribution structure innovation, based on his diverse practical experience as head of the distribution division at Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation and research fellow at the NongHyup Economic Research Institute. It is expected that the agricultural and marine products wholesale market will achieve significant management innovation through various new projects such as the ‘e-Marketplace’ and reform of the distribution process.

Kim Sang-deok, the newly appointed president of Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Corporation.

Furthermore, Daegu City plans to accelerate the wholesale market relocation project alongside the corporation's launch. The relocation project, costing about 410 billion KRW, involves moving to Habin-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu City. After applying for the facility modernization project contest by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in December last year, the evaluation results are expected by the end of February this year. The launch of the corporation and the wholesale market relocation project are expected to create synergy effects and gain further momentum.

Mayor Hong Jun-pyo said, “Daegu Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Management Corporation is the first case nationwide to convert the management system of a public wholesale market from direct city management to a local corporation.” He added, “We will improve the agricultural and marine products distribution structure to suit the changing distribution environment and strive to establish transparent trading order to provide citizens with fresh agricultural and marine products stably.”