Elected with 78.9% of the Vote
Last Consecutive-Term Chairman of Saemaul Geumgo
Challenges Ahead: Enhancing Soundness and Securing Future Revenue Sources
Kim In, Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea. / Provided by the National Credit Union Federation of Korea
Kim In, Chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea, has succeeded in being re-elected.
The National Credit Union Federation of Korea announced on the 17th that Chairman Kim was elected in the 20th presidential election for the federation.
This year's election for the chairman of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea was conducted as a direct vote, entrusted to the National Election Commission. Voting and ballot counting took place on this day at the MG Human Resources Development Center located in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do. The total number of electors was 1,253.
Chairman Kim received 921 votes out of 1,167 (excluding 86 absentees), winning with a vote share of 78.9%.
Born in 1952, Chairman Kim graduated from Kyungbok High School and the College of Education at Seoul National University. He previously served as Chairman of Seoul Namdaemun Market Co., Ltd. and as Chairman of Namdaemun Credit Union. He was elected as the head of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea in a by-election in December 2023 following the arrest and detention of former Chairman Park Cha-hoon, and has since led the federation. He is credited with achieving organizational reform at the credit union following the bank run (large-scale withdrawal of deposits) crisis.
Looking ahead, Chairman Kim faces the task of managing soundness and establishing a new growth foundation for the credit union. The delinquency rate at the National Credit Union Federation of Korea surged to the 8% range in the first half of this year but fell to 6.78% as of the end of September, showing signs of improvement. The federation is aiming to achieve a delinquency rate in the 5% range. In particular, after experiencing a crisis of bad loans in real estate project financing, the credit union is in urgent need of new sources of revenue. Improving its image after the bank run crisis is also an important challenge. In his acceptance speech, Chairman Kim stated, "I will strive to make the National Credit Union Federation of Korea an institution that is loved and trusted by the public."
Chairman Kim will be the last chairman to serve consecutive terms at the National Credit Union Federation of Korea. According to the revised Credit Union Act, the term of the chairman was changed to a single four-year term at the beginning of this year. However, this change will only apply starting from March 2026, so Chairman Kim is not affected. His current term runs until March 14, 2025, and the new term will last for four years, until March 14, 2030.
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