Gov`t efforts to revamp farm co-op faces opposition: official

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- The government's efforts to enhance transparency and accountability in the country's scandal-plagued farm cooperative has run into opposition in the form of union protests and foot-dragging, officials said Wednesday.
A senior official at the audit bureau of Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries told reporters that systematic obstruction has hampered reviews to
check personnel management in the 2.4 million-strong organization.
He also said that there is no clear distribution system for the assistance fund
worth 3.61 billion won (US$2.73 million) managed by the National Agricultural
Cooperative Federation, commonly called Nonghyup.
"The ministry conducted a 15-day annual audit on the cooperative ending Dec. 3,
but having failed to receive cooperation, instigated a special audit last
Wednesday," said the official, who declined to be identified. He said that the
special audit was blocked on the first day by union workers and later by the
cooperative's slow compliance in handing over the files requested.
Personnel and accounting records on how special funds were used are important
because they are linked to curtailing the authority of the cooperative's
chairman.
"There have been persistent complaints about problems with personnel and spending
of the support funds," the audit expert said, making clear that these issues must
be examined to build a more transparent governance system.
Seoul had taken steps to limit the power of the chairman in 2004, although three
people who have held the post recently have all gone to jail on corruption
charges, Chung Dae-kun, the last CEO, has been implicated in a bribery scandal
involving the brother of former President Roh Moo-hyun.
The organization has since come under mounting accusations of lack of
transparency and accountability. On Dec. 4, it pledged to take remedial action
calling for broad restructuring as well as a conversion to a holding company
arrangement for its financial and farm support businesses.
President Lee Myung-bak took at leading role in the attack by calling on Nonghyup
to make changes. The remarks caused a reform committee to be set up last week
that aims to announce a comprehensive blueprint to overhaul the cooperative early
next year.
Others in the ministry also said that the special assistance fund needs to be
examined in detail.
"The fund itself is designed to help smaller cooperatives by offering
interest-free loans," the official said. He, however, said there are no set
standards for distribution, opening the possibility that money can be used by the
chairman to control 1,189 regional cooperatives.
"Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong ordered officials to report all
obstructions of the ongoing review to the public prosecutors' office and the
Board of Audit and Inspections," he said.
Nonghyup countered that there was no systematic obstruction and that protests by
the union were limited to one day.
It also claimed that asking for personnel files could compromise the independence
of the cooperative, which is not run by the government.
Nonghyup added that there is a set distribution and review process for the
support funds that are checked by a 12-member panel every quarter.
"If the money is used for other purposes, it is recalled," Nonghyup stressed,
adding that there is little room for illegal use of the money or unlawful
influence by the chairman.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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