NongHyup Financial Group announced on Dec. 9 that it will consolidate its investment, lending, distribution, and sales support for agricultural and food companies into the group-wide K-Food Scale-Up Program.
The program is NongHyup Financial Group’s third productive finance project. It was partially implemented by its affiliates.
The financial group will significantly expand the program to lead productive finance in the agricultural sector.
NongHyup Financial Group currently operates the largest agricultural and food fund in Korea.
The 410 billion won fund, was established through NongHyup Bank, NH Investment & Securities, NH Capital, and NH Venture Investment.
The bank plans to scale up this fund to 1 trillion won over the next five years and significantly strengthen the investment in innovative companies that will lead the future agricultural and food industry including smart agriculture, food tech, and green bio.
In particular, amidst structural changes in agriculture and growing demand for technological innovation, NongHyup Bank is focusing on revitalizing agricultural and food funds to support startup and investment ecosystems for agricultural and food companies and to help the agricultural industry establish itself as a future growth driver.
Recently, NongHyup Bank, a specialized agricultural and food investment financial institution, was selected as the general manager for a 50 billion won agricultural and food fund in June of this year.
In November, the bank was also selected as the sole manager of a 20 billion won agricultural and food fund, a first for a Korean bank.
Furthermore, NongHyup Bank is running an agricultural and food-specific ML model to strengthen investment and inclusive finance in the agricultural and food sector, including innovative companies, smart farms, and green growth. The bank is continuously improving its differentiation capabilities.
As a result, loans for agricultural and food companies climbed to 30.29 trillion won (24.1% of NongHyup Bank’s total corporate loans), an increase of 610 billion won compared to the end of last year. Model differentiation lowered its delinquency rate by 0.22 percentage points compared to the end of 2024.
Based on AI algorithms and various alternative information, NH Investment & Securities will expand productive financing and continue to revitalize the agricultural and regional economies by providing preferential lower interest rates and additional credit limits to excellent agricultural and food companies.
NongHyup Financial Group contributes to the development of new markets and increasing income for young farmers by utilizing an online platform.
Meanwhile, NH Investment & Securities will steadily promote increased real income for farmers and secure a distribution base through the Farmer Sales Channel Support Program.
This program is characterized by its practical approach, providing young farmers with online retail sales experience to sharpen their own competitiveness in the market.
NH Investment & Securities, in collaboration with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, has been supporting the costs of online platforms (Naver) and live commerce (Naver Shopping and NongHyup Mall) for agricultural product distribution and sales for young farmers who completed the Youth Farmer Academy and the AgTech Startup Campus.
“The establishment of the Agricultural and Food Fund and the program to support farmers’ market access will become NongHyup Financial Group’s signature productive finance,” said Lee Chan-woo, chairman of NongHyup Financial Group.
“We will become the only financial group responsible for entire agricultural ecosystems from discovering and investing in agricultural and food companies to providing farmers with market access.”
Special Lecture on AI
Nonghyup Financial Group announced that it held a special lecture on “Understanding the Framework Act on AI and Response Directions for the Financial Sector” for approximately 100 employees at its headquarters on Dec. 4.
This special lecture was designed to enhance employees’ understanding and response capabilities by providing preliminary knowledge of the key provisions of the Framework Act on AI and its subordinate statutes scheduled to take effect on Jan. 22, 2026, and their impacts on financial companies.
The lecture, delivered by Attorney Ma Kyung-tae of Kim & Chang Law Firm, focused on practical topics, such as key provisions and impacts of the Framework Act on AI, definitions of high-impact, generative, and high-performance AI, the responsibilities of AI service providers, and implications for internal control and governance.
_농협금융 이찬우 회장.png)
_농협청년농부 라이브커머스02.jpg)
