The National Election Commission will entrust and manage the first Nationwide Simultaneous Elections for Heads of Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) (hereinafter referred to as the “Heads of KFCC Elections”), which will be held for the first time on March 5 next year, starting on the 21st.

The Heads of KFCC Election has been managed by the KFCC itself, but starting from now on, the competent district, city, and county election commissions will be entrusted with the task of simultaneously electing the heads of 1,195 KFCC nationwide.

In the past, it has been pointed out that in entrusted elections such as heads of cooperatives elections, both candidates and voters are easily exposed to the temptation of receiving bribes due to the limited campaign methods of candidates and the lack of information about candidates by voters. In response to these criticisms, the Act on Elections Entrusted by Public Organizations was revised on January 30, 2024 (effective date: July 31, 2024), and the newly established preliminary candidate system and expanded election campaign methods will be applied to the Heads of KFCC Election.

The main contents of the revised Act on Elections Entrusted by Public Organizations are as follows:

a. Establishment of a preliminary candidate system for the election of heads of cooperatives and credit cooperatives

b. Requirement to check and report the criminal record of a person who intends to become a candidate and to post the criminal record in election bulletin

c. One person designated by the (preliminary) candidate, in addition to the (preliminary) candidate, such as a spouse or direct ascendant, can also campaign

d. Assignment of virtual mobile phone numbers for voters for election campaigning

The National Election Commission stated that it will manage this Heads of KFCC elections transparently and fairly in accordance with the revised Act on Elections Entrusted by Public Organizations, and requested that each credit cooperatives candidate compete fairly with policies and pledges by complying with the election campaign methods, such as the preliminary candidate system.

In addition, the National Election Commission will pay a maximum reward of 300 million won to anyone who reports organized money elections related to the simultaneous chairman elections. Those who receive money, goods, or food may be subject to a fine of 10 to 50 times the amount provided, up to a maximum of 30 million won, according to the Act on Elections Entrusted by Public Organizations.

The National Election Commission plans to actively encourage reporting and reporting of consignment election crimes by reducing the fines for those who receive money, goods, or food and turn themselves in, and even paying a reward for reporting depending on the case. For inquiries related to the simultaneous chairman elections or to report or report illegal activities, call 1390 from anywhere in the country.