20,000 Farmers Rally Against Nonghyup Act Amendment

On the 21st, approximately 20,000 farmers and heads of agricultural and livestock cooperatives from across the country held a rally in Yeouido, Seoul, to oppose the amendment to the Nonghyup Act being pushed by the government and ruling party. Participants argued that the proposed changes amounted to 'taming Nonghyup' and an infringement on the autonomy of cooperatives guaranteed by the constitution, demanding sufficient public discussion and procedural legitimacy for legislation that does not reflect the specific circumstances of the field.

At the resolution rally, five demands were adopted: an end to 'government-controlled supervision' that infringes upon Nonghyup's autonomy, the scrapping of contentious clauses, the preservation of subsidiary company oversight and supervision rights, the withdrawal of a proposal to establish an inefficient audit body, and a halt to attempts to change the election system for the central federation chairman to direct member voting.

Major agricultural organizations nationwide also participated, expressing their solidarity. Park Kyung-sik, co-chairman of the emergency committee, pointed out that the proposed Nonghyup Act amendment is an intervention rather than a reform. The emergency committee plans to deliver the demands adopted on this day to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.