Nonghyup

National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF)
농협중앙회/농업협동조합

NACF Official Logo. The 'V' shape signifies a 'bud' and 'rice', which means the eternal development of Korean agriculture while 'O' shape stands for 'smoothness', 'money' and 'cooperation'.
Type	Cooperative federation
Industry	Banking, agricultural marketing & supply, livestock marketing & supply and extension services
Founded	August 15, 1961
Area served	South Korea
Key people	Won-Byung Choi, Chairman
Revenue	KRW 36.289 trillion (2011)
Operating income	KRW 964 billion (2011)
Net income	KRW 703 billion (2011)
Total assets	KRW 305 trillion (2011)
Website	www.nonghyup.com/

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) was established in 1961 to enhance the social and economic status of its membership and to promote a balanced development of the national economy. Its role is divided into three areas: marketing and supply, banking and insurance, and extension services.

Although literally referring to local member cooperatives, the term nonghyup is used by South Koreans to describe both a local cooperative (Korean:농협) and the NACF (Korean: 농협중앙회).

Member cooperatives are democratically controlled, autonomous business groups, funded by member subscriptions rather than government financial investment. They, in turn, fund the NACF through institutional subscriptions. Cooperatives are governed by directly elected presidents, who, in turn, elect a chairman of the federation. However, the reputation of NACF, in Korea, is not good. It is doubtable whether they are democratically controlled. They are notorious for corruption. Many Korean people think that NACF is not a cooperative, just a kind of greedy conglomerate controlled by a few elites.

Member cooperatives allow non-farmers, who have invested a certain amount of capital into the cooperative, to open tax-free bank accounts and access some services. However, whereas member farmers are defined as the genuine owners or stakeholders, associate members can only obtain limited access to or influence over the cooperative.

As of December 2011, the number of the member farmers was 2,446,836 and the number of the associate members was 15,262,611. In 2010, these figures were 2,447,765 and 14,483,532, respectively, indicating a decline in member farmers of 929, and an increase in associate members of 779,079.

At the end of year 2011, the NACF comprised 1,167 head branches, alongside 3,306 cooperatives.

Recent international agreements have affected South Korean agriculture and by extension the effectiveness of the NACF. These include the European Union–South Korea Free Trade Agreement, implemented in July 2011, and the Free trade agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Korea, which took effect on 15 March 2012. Proposed agreements include the China–South Korea Free Trade Agreement, the official public hearing of which was held at the World Trade Center Seoul on 24 February 2012.