The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea held a meeting for the implementation of fair elections with related institutions ahead of the 2nd Nationwide Simultaneous Elections for Heads of Cooperatives at the NEC main office on January 16.

The meeting, which was held to discuss preparations for the upcoming elections for heads of cooperatives, was held 50 days ahead of election day itself The meeting included representatives from six governmental agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Supreme Prosecutor''s Office, and the police as well as officials from the cooperatives themselves.

At the meeting they discussed prevention and enforcement measures to prevent of money-based elections, strengthening the accuracy and fairness of the procedure affairs and measures to promote elections that comply with the law and voting participation with the cooperatives

The NEC said eliminating money-based elections would be the first priority and that it would respond strictly to illegal acts by applying a zero tolerance principle.

In addition, since the participation rate of the members and the public expectation for clean elections for the heads of cooperatives are both high, the NEC called for the smooth cooperation of the agencies related to elections for public office in order to establish a cultural of fair elections for heads of cooperatives. 

A total of 1,343 heads of associations (1,113 agricultural, 90 fishery and 140 forestry associations) will be elected during the 2nd Nationwide Simultaneous Elections for Heads of Cooperatives on March 13. The NEC will be managing the candidate registration and campaigning and the voting and counting for the election.