Kang Ho-dong has been re-elected as president of the International Cooperative Alliance for Agriculture (ICAO). He was also reappointed as a director of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), continuing to represent South Korea's agricultural cooperatives on the international stage.
On September 15, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation announced that Kang was re-elected during the ICAO General Assembly held in Panama City on September 14. His new term will last four years. With this re-election, Kang will also continue his role as a director of the ICA.
Founded in 1951, ICAO is a sectoral organization under the ICA that represents approximately 1 billion cooperative members worldwide. Currently, 45 agricultural cooperative organizations from 35 countries are members. South Korea's agricultural cooperatives have served as the chair organization since 1998, coordinating cooperation among global agricultural cooperatives.
Since taking office as ICAO president in July 2024, Kang has represented the voices of agricultural cooperatives while serving as a director of the ICA and the Asia-Pacific Regional Office of the ICA (ICA-AP). Last year, in conjunction with the '2025 International Year of Cooperatives,' he hosted the ICAO General Assembly in Seoul, adopting the 'Seoul Declaration,' which addresses food security, climate crisis response, youth and women in agriculture, and the protection of farmers' rights.
Kang has also promoted the 'Nongsim Cheonsim' movement (the farmers' heart is the will of heaven) to the international community and shared the experiences of South Korean cooperatives through training programs for member organization representatives and global leadership capacity-building initiatives.
He stated, "In the face of crises such as climate change and food security, solidarity among cooperatives is more essential than ever. Based on the spirit of the Seoul Declaration, we will work together to overcome these challenges and pave the way for a sustainable future in agriculture and rural areas where farmers are respected."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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