President Lee Dae-houn, center, of NH Bank is on a visit to Ilmi Agriculture and Fishery Co.on July 10 and meets with President Oh Young-chol, left. looking around the company's famed Ilgajip brand products made only with domestic farm and fishery products. (Photo: NH Bank)

President Lee Dae-houn of NH Bank visited the Ilmi Agriculture and Fishery Co. located in Jochiwon Town in Sejong City on July 10 to listen to troubles the company might have as part of his move to set up a financial support plan for firms in the area.
For over 30 years Ilmi Agriculture and Fishery has been known for its Ilga House brand products, ranging from salty radish pickles and other traditional salty vegetables to staple side dishes that are part of people’s everyday lives.
The food maker won the Proud Agricultural Food Company Award created by NH Bank in recognition of the company using domestic food ingredients to make its products to help boost the consumption of domestic agricultural produce.
President Lee said he expects that global food items would soon be produced using only Korean domestic farm produce, and NH Bank will not spare its support by providing consultations, credit support and other diverse forms of assistance.
In the meantime, NH Bank has provided over 20 trillion won in the first half of this year to companies dealing with the production of foods with domestic farm produce only. An extension of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation’s financial operations, NongHyup Bank was established in March 2, 2012 with purely domestic, private capital.
Since its foundation in 1961 as a comprehensive agricultural cooperative, it has been recognized as the safest bank in Korea and as the most advanced cooperative financial institution around the world thanks to its half-century proven track record in financial operations. By fully assuming its role as the profit center of the cooperative while at the same time securing global competitiveness, NongHyup Bank serve the financial industry one of the country’s leading banks.
“With our unwavering focus on customer satisfaction and happiness, we pledge to bring even greater satisfaction and services to our 20 million customers,” according to the bank.
As a representative of agricultural cooperatives and NGOs in Korea, NACF (National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation) is in constant contact with overseas cooperatives and international organizations. International relations provide an opportunity to share information, knowledge, and perspectives concerning the agricultural sector and cooperative society.
Although NACF’s international engagement spans the globe, it enjoys particularly strong relationships with organizations in Japan, China and other Asian countries, Western Europe, Russia, United States, Canada, and Latin America. NACF is a member of such prominent organizations as the ICA, AFMA, APRACA, IRU and EAOC, and has participated in the meetings and cooperative actions at both global and regional levels of numerous international bodies, including the OECD, WTO, APEC, UN FAO, IFAD, AARRO, FFTC and APO.
The purpose of NACF's international cooperation is not only to establish contact with overseas cooperatives and organizations but also to research the model practices and management of these organizations. In addition, it examines related agricultural trade policies, their potential effects on the agricultural sector and rural communities and possible solutions to any of those effects that may be adverse.
International activities have proved particularly helpful in the identification of supporters for NACF's position as it regards agricultural trade negotiations, whose effects have been largely negative for Korean agriculture since Korea joined the World Trade Organization. NACF has worked with cooperative partners from other countries to minimize the negative impact of trade agreements on net-food-importing countries, such as Korea.