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Kang Ho-dong, Chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), delivers an opening statement during the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee audit session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on October 24. (Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL, October 30, 2025 — South Korean police have imposed an overseas travel ban on Kang Ho-dong, Chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), amid an investigation into allegations that he accepted ₩100 million (approx. US$73,000) in bribes from a contractor linked to the federation.
According to police sources, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit issued the travel ban against Kang on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Investigators suspect that Kang received the money from the head of a service company doing business with NACF subsidiaries around January 2024, shortly before and after he ran for the federation’s chairmanship. The payment is believed to have been made in exchange for business favors, as Kang was widely seen at the time as the frontrunner in the election.
Kang was elected NACF chairman on January 25, 2024, and officially began his term on March 7 of the same year. Police are continuing to investigate the source and nature of the alleged payment.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
