Reports say that on September 3, Rep. Joo Cheol-hyun introduced an amendment to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act that would expand the right to elect the NACF chair to all members and allow a chair elected after the law takes effect to serve one additional term. The news has brought renewed attention to discussions over the direct election and reappointment system for the NACF chair, and appears to be one factor behind increased search interest in “Nonghyup.”
Key changes
The reported amendment has two main points.
- Expand the right to elect the NACF chair to all members
- Allow a chair elected after the law takes effect to serve one additional term
Under the current system, the NACF chair is elected by the general meeting, serves a four-year term, and cannot serve consecutive terms. The proposal would therefore revise both the election method and the term-limit rules.
Direct election and reappointment are proposed directions in the bill and do not mean that the law has been finalized or taken effect.
Current status
Based only on publicly available materials confirmed on September 3, the official bill number and specific standing committee review schedule for Rep. Joo Cheol-hyun’s proposal have not been confirmed. At this stage, it is appropriate to describe the situation as confirmation of reports that an amendment has been introduced.
Separately, an amendment to the Nonghyup Act introduced by Rep. Yoon Jun-byung and 10 others on April 1, 2026, includes a proposal for the NACF chair to be directly elected by all members, along with revisions to member eligibility. For this separate bill, records show that it was tabled and reviewed clause by clause by the legislation subcommittee of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on August 25. The two proposals are separate bills and should not be conflated.
Impact
Under the current system, members of the NACF general meeting exercise between one and three votes depending on factors such as the number of cooperative members. Under the enforcement decree, voting rights in the chair election are based on one vote for cooperatives with fewer than 3,000 members and two votes for cooperatives with 3,000 or more members. If a direct election by members is pursued, participation in the chair election would expand from the current general-meeting-centered structure to all members.
However, concerns have also been raised about excessive competition and politicization of elections, as well as the financial costs associated with a direct election. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has said it is reviewing measures including strengthened eligibility requirements for candidates, a public election system, simultaneous elections, and cost reduction.
Allowing one reappointment could also be connected to discussions about the chair’s accountability and policy continuity, but specific effects cannot be asserted beyond what has been established in the research materials.
What to watch next
Going forward, it will be necessary to check whether an official bill number is published for Rep. Joo Cheol-hyun’s proposal, whether a standing committee review schedule is set, and how the proposal proceeds through introduction, review, passage, promulgation, and enforcement.
Based on the materials currently confirmed, it cannot be said that the amendment has passed the National Assembly or that direct election and one reappointment are already in effect.