Yecheon Livestock Cooperative By-election Cash-for-votes Scheme Exposed

Attempted Distribution of 150 Million Won in Cash
Preliminary Candidate Detained, 20 People Caught

An election crime involving an attempted large-scale cash handout ahead of the by-election for the head of the Yecheon Livestock Cooperative has been detected by the police. With even a preliminary candidate being taken into custody, this case is sounding the alarm on the entrenched practice of cash-for-votes that threatens fair elections.

20 Arrested, Including Union Members Who Attempted to Offer 150 Million Won; Stern Measures Against Disruption of Election Order

The Yecheon Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province announced that it had arrested two people, including a preliminary candidate, and booked without detention 18 others, including cooperative members, on charges of attempting to provide money and valuables to cooperative members in order to win the by-election for the cooperative head, in violation of the Act on the Entrustment of Election Administration to Public Organizations.

According to the police, the suspects are accused of attempting to distribute approximately 150 million won in cash to cooperative members while asking them to support a specific preliminary candidate ahead of the by-election for the Yecheon Livestock Cooperative head, which had been scheduled for February 11, 2026. The investigation found that an organized method was used, in which acquaintances and cooperative members were used as intermediaries to deliver the cash directly or to relay instructions to do so.

The police detected indications of the cash delivery in advance and arrested some of those involved at certain locations, and through search and seizure they secured a list of cooperative members who received money and valuables, as well as the cash itself. They then identified all parties who gave and received the cash and completed their arrests and bookings.

A police official stated, "Elections for cooperative heads are directly linked to the management of local agricultural and livestock cooperatives and the rights and interests of their members, so fairness is more important than anything else," adding, "We will prevent any recurrence by conducting swift and stern investigations into illegal election activities such as providing money and valuables."

Although elections for cooperative heads are small in scale, the position carries great weight, as it determines the cooperative's finances and the direction of the local agriculture and livestock industry. Nevertheless, the fact that outdated practices in which money seeks to sway voters' preferences continue to be repeated is a serious problem that undermines the trust-based foundation of the local community.

In particular, the organized provision of cash that exploits the structure of a limited electorate can distort the election outcome itself, which calls for an even more stringent response. Unless crackdowns and punishments are accompanied by internal efforts at self-purification within cooperatives and a shift in awareness among cooperative members, the vicious cycle of "money politics" in elections will be difficult to break.