Direct Election for Saemaul Geumgo President
President Kim In Holds Incumbency Advantage
Other Candidates Emphasize New Leadership
Shinhyup Federation Set to Welcome New Leader
The election for the new Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (Saemaul Geumgo), which oversees assets totaling 289 trillion won, will officially begin next week. Excluding the 2023 by-election, this is the first direct election in which chairmen from credit unions nationwide will directly elect the federation's chairman.
According to the National Election Commission on the 28th, candidate registration for the Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea will be held from December 2 to 3. The election process includes preliminary candidate registration, candidate registration, and the election itself. Once the official candidate registration is completed next week, the election campaign will begin in earnest, and on December 17, the election will be held at the MG Human Resources Development Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, with votes cast by the chairmen of 1,267 credit unions nationwide.
The most prominent candidate currently mentioned is Chairman Kim In. Kim In was elected to the position in a by-election in 2023 following the arrest and detention of former Chairman Park Cha-hoon. Since then, Chairman Kim has focused on organizational reform and strengthening the soundness of Saemaul Geumgo in the wake of the bank run crisis. The delinquency rate at Saemaul Geumgo surged to over 8% in the first half of this year but eased to 6.78% as of the end of September.
Chairman Kim's advantage lies in his status as the incumbent, making him well-known among credit union chairmen nationwide. He has also built a broad network with chairmen across the country during his tenure, which is seen as a positive factor. Internally, he is also regarded as having flexible leadership. However, as a close associate of former Chairman Park Cha-hoon, he is seen as somewhat removed from the image of personnel renewal. If elected, Chairman Kim would become the last chairman eligible for reappointment. Under the revised Saemaul Geumgo Act, the chairman's term was changed to a single four-year term at the beginning of this year, but this applies only from March 2026, so Chairman Kim is not affected by this change.
As of today, besides Chairman Kim, Yu Jae-chun, Chairman of Seoul Livestock Credit Union, and Jang Jae-gon, Chairman of Jongno Plaza Credit Union, have registered as preliminary candidates. Chairman Yu is reportedly emphasizing an image of "innovation." He also highlights his achievement in growing Seoul Livestock Credit Union from a small union with assets of about 20 billion won to a large-scale union with assets of around 872.4 billion won. Chairman Jang, who has worked in the field for 40 years, is also promoting new leadership based on his extensive experience.
The National Credit Union Federation of Korea is also set to see a change in leadership. The election for the next head of the federation will be held on January 7 next year, with 860 credit union chairmen nationwide participating as the electoral college. The current chairman, Kim Yoon-sik, who took office in 2018 and was re-elected in 2021, is barred from running again due to term limits. As a result, a new figure will be chosen as the next chairman.
According to the National Election Commission, three candidates have completed preliminary registration for the chairman position: Park Jong-sik, Chairman of Samik Credit Union; Yoon Eui-soo, former Director of External Cooperation at the federation; and Yang Jun-mo, Director at the federation. Chairman Park has over 40 years of field experience at credit unions, while both Director Yang and former Director Yoon are seen as strong candidates due to their experience working at the federation headquarters.
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