The public opinion battle between the government and Nonghyup (the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation) over agricultural cooperative reform is intensifying. As chiefs of agricultural and livestock cooperatives nationwide strongly opposed the proposed amendment to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is pushing ahead at speed, citing strong support for reform among cooperative members and the general public.
"If we keep debating Nonghyup reform and let it drag on, it will be a loss for farmers and the public alike," Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said at a regular press briefing at the Sejong Government Complex on Thursday. "If it carries over past the local elections, it could become entangled with political issues. Ideally, I hope the legislation currently proposed can be resolved in May."
Behind the government's push is strong support for reform among cooperative members and the general public. In a survey commissioned by the agriculture ministry to the Korea Rural Economic Institute and conducted by Gallup Korea, 94.5% of Nonghyup cooperative members and 95.1% of the general public said reform of the agricultural cooperative was necessary. The online survey was conducted from the 21st to the 24th with 1,079 cooperative members nationwide and 1,000 members of the general public.
The results stand in stark contrast to an earlier survey conducted by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation among chiefs of agricultural and livestock cooperatives nationwide. In that online survey conducted on the 9th and 10th with 1,108 cooperative chiefs, more than 90% of the 871 respondents opposed the two Agricultural Cooperatives Act amendments currently pending in the National Assembly. Specifically, 96.8% opposed expanding the agriculture ministry's direct supervisory authority, 96.4% opposed establishing the cooperative's audit committee as an independent external body, and 96.1% opposed introducing a direct election system for the federation chairman by all cooperative members.
Opinions diverged sharply, particularly on the direct election of the federation chairman and the restructuring of the audit system. In the government-side survey, cooperative members and the public viewed the direct election system as strengthening member sovereignty and reducing the potential for corruption. The cooperative chiefs, however, voiced concerns about rising election costs and the possibility of populist pledges. On establishing the audit committee as an external body, the government emphasizes the need for fair auditing, while cooperative chiefs raise concerns that it could expand government influence.
Separately from the Agricultural Cooperatives Act amendment currently under discussion, the agriculture ministry plans to announce a second round of Nonghyup reform measures in June. While the amendment pending in the National Assembly focuses on governance improvements such as the direct election of the federation chairman and audit system reform, the second round of reform is expected to emphasize strengthening the marketing and distribution functions for agricultural products and scaling up cooperatives to improve the structure of their economic operations.
Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry also decided to form and operate an "Agricultural and Rural Energy Transition Task Force" to shift the energy structure in agriculture and rural areas. The task force will review the current agricultural energy structure, which relies on agricultural electricity and tax-free fuel, and discuss transition tasks in various areas, including heating for facility horticulture, biogas from livestock manure, the use of renewable energy in rural areas, and the deployment of energy-efficient equipment.
"We will refine these tasks in a direction that improves energy efficiency in the agricultural sector without adding to the burden on farm households," Song said.
