Reclaiming the Cooperative

Park Tae-gang, the sixty-seven-year-old branch manager of the Mir Agricultural Cooperative's central branch, buried his face in his hands.

He never imagined a day would come when he would suffer such "humiliation" at the hands of a greenhorn politician.

It was all because of the abnormal structure and operating system of the Agricultural Cooperative as a whole.

Let us point out an interesting detail here.

Why was Park Tae-gang wearing a name tag that read [Branch Manager], and why was he called that?

In the first place, local agricultural cooperatives are cooperative associations funded by local farmers, meaning the very concept of a "branch" does not exist.

In other words, something like the Hawol Branch of the Doma Agricultural Cooperative could not exist. Hawol-myeon would simply have its own Hawol Agricultural Cooperative.

Then why did the Mir Agricultural Cooperative Central Branch come to be?

Because the local agricultural cooperatives of Mir City had merged.

This was the current trend among regional cooperatives.

As rural populations aged and the number of cooperative members dwindled, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation—the National Headquarters—encouraged mergers for administrative convenience. The local cooperatives themselves also needed to scale up to compensate for their declining competitiveness. Add to that the political interests surrounding the election of the federation's chairman, and voila!

The grand merger of Mir City's local agricultural cooperatives was born.

Doma Agricultural Cooperative? You are now the Doma Branch of the Mir Agricultural Cooperative.

Hawol Agricultural Cooperative? You are now the Hawol Branch of the Mir Agricultural Cooperative.

...And so, things had devolved to this point.

And the Central Branch was currently tasked with representing all these "branches" of Mir City.

Since they had merged into a single corporation, there was only one president.

Park Tae-gang.

While the other former presidents were demoted to "Doma Branch Manager" and "Hawol Branch Manager," Park Tae-gang felt too guilty to flaunt his sole status as president. Thus, he had made himself a branch manager name tag and insisted on being addressed as such.

And he had the nerve to ask me if the cooperative is still an institution for the farmers?

To ask such a painful, piercing question.

"Mayor Lee, I don't know how much you know about the Agricultural Cooperative, but this ecosystem is far more complex than you think," the branch manager said.

"The National Federation only cares about the banking business and ignores the farmers? Honestly, you have to cut them some slack. Why? Because agriculture doesn't make money."

"..."

"It really doesn't make money. Almost everything runs at a deficit. Then, I'm sure you'll point out that the cause of that deficit lies in our deformed distribution structure, including the logistics centers. I admit it. That is indeed a problem. I acknowledge that."

The branch manager nodded.

"But regardless, we are covering those deficits with the profits generated from our financial services. The National Federation does a lot of foolish things, but you shouldn't mistake that for pure malice."

"Branch Manager, doesn't that strike you as odd?" Yun-hyeok asked.

"If agriculture itself is unprofitable, the solution should be to develop agricultural technology and innovate the distribution structure to improve the revenue model. Why try to patch it up with banking?"

"Well..."

"Is that why the National Federation pours more attention into expanding its financial sector, and why cooperative presidents elect a chairman who is well-versed in finance rather than someone who will promote agriculture? How is that a farmers' cooperative?"

Branch Manager Park Tae-gang fell silent.

"Because of this setup, even when the National Federation creates bizarre distribution networks that worsen the deficit, you can't say a single word. You're too busy walking on eggshells around them," Yun-hyeok said.

"And on top of that, you have to worry about the votes of the local farmers. I know how difficult it is to be caught in the middle. What I'm saying is, isn't it time we finally change this structure?"

"..."

Park Tae-gang parted his lips, hesitating.

"Mayor. I feel like we're circling back to the beginning, but Smart Farms don't make money."

"They can."

"How?"

"By producing high-quality goods and branding them properly."

"...?"

Park Tae-gang listened to Yun-hyeok's explanation.

Though he initially reacted with indifference, by the time the explanation ended, he bolted upright from his seat.

"Can I see it right now?"

He wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Smart Farms are expensive to build. Consequently, their profitability is low. This was a well-known fact.

That was why everyone chose to plant high-value crops in them.

In that regard, while facilities like Japan's Techno Farm were technologically superior, they faced clear limitations when considering the market price of something like lettuce.

What about tomatoes?

Tomatoes actually paired exceptionally well with Smart Farms.

Because they are highly sensitive to key variables such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, electrical conductivity (nutrient solution concentration), and sunlight, the precise control capabilities of a Smart Farm became a massive advantage.

And there was another reason.

There was already a wealth of accumulated data on how tomatoes reacted to changes in these various environmental factors.

So, what could bio-deep tech achieve with this data?

They could produce incredibly sweet tomatoes.

[High-Brix Tomatoes]

Agronex possessed the prototype.

To a layperson, it might not look like much, but to an expert, it was shocking. To someone like Branch Manager Park Tae-gang, it felt like absolute magic.

"Is this really..." He took a bite of the tomato and spoke in disbelief. "Are you telling me absolutely nothing was added to this tomato?"

Traditionally, farmers could produce sweet "Daldjagi" tomatoes by regulating irrigation. This was a well-known technique among existing farms.

"But this is practically on the level of a stevia tomato..."

Stevia tomatoes were classified as processed foods, not fresh agricultural produce.

They weren't a new variety that synthesized stevia naturally; rather, fully ripe tomatoes were placed in a chamber filled with sweetened water and subjected to high pressure to inject the stevia directly into the fruit.

"But there are really no additives in this?"

"None whatsoever," the CEO of Agronex replied confidently.

If irrigation is reduced during the ripening stage after the fruit colors, the sugar content of the tomato increases.

Furthermore, increasing the salinity of the nutrient solution also boosts sweetness.

After fruit set, the concentration of the nutrient solution is gradually increased from 1.5 to over 2.5 dS/m. Raising the ratio of potassium also aids in both sweetness and coloration.

Tomatoes accumulate sugar more effectively when there is a large diurnal temperature variation. While open-field farming has limits in temperature regulation, a Smart Farm can control the daily temperature swing to precisely 13 degrees Celsius.

The more sunlight they receive and the better the light spectrum matches, the more photosynthesis is activated, driving up the sugar levels.

Therefore, by using LED lights to increase the ratio of blue light and providing supplemental lighting for two to three hours before and after sunrise, the sweetness skyrockets.

"Branch Manager," Yun-hyeok called out to Park Tae-gang again.

"This is fresh agricultural produce, not a processed food. A healthy, pesticide-free product with zero additives, yet sweeter and more delicious than any tomato on the market. That is how we will brand it."

"..."

"The city will develop it as a local specialty and promote it directly. If the branding is solid and the quality is consistent, major supermarkets and online malls will jump at the chance. We won't have to go through the National Federation's rotten distribution network. We can supply directly to Emart or Homeplus, or sell directly online. The Smart Farm households will rapidly increase their profits, and the local cooperative will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recover its investment."

Holding the half-eaten tomato, Park Tae-gang was deeply shaken.

His mind wavered by the second.

Although the failure rate of Smart Farms was notoriously high, there were, of course, successful precedents.

"Have you heard of Udeumjee Farm?"

Park Tae-gang was startled by Yun-hyeok's question.

The young mayor had clearly done his homework.

For someone who wasn't even a tomato farmer to know about that!

"It's a Smart Farm in Buyeo County. They successfully branded their stevia tomatoes as 'Tomango' and grew into a robust mid-sized agricultural corporation with annual sales reaching sixty billion won," Yun-hyeok said. "We can build something like that right here in Mir City. The city hall will provide its full support."

Perhaps it really was possible.

Yet, on the other hand, Park Tae-gang felt overwhelmed at the sheer prospect of the battle they would have to wage against the National Federation.

The National Federation loathed local cooperatives establishing their own branding or independent distribution. Given how much money the federation had poured into its logistics centers, they would undoubtedly exert immense pressure if a local branch bypassed them to supply directly.

"Branch Manager," Yun-hyeok pressed on.

"The researchers here aren't farmers, so how do you think they managed to harvest something like this from a laboratory chamber?"

"..."

"It's because of the data. The data built from the blood, sweat, and tears of Mir City's farmers over decades of researching how to raise the sugar levels of tomatoes. That is what made this possible. The farmers of Mir City possess incredible expertise. They have no reason to scrape by while walking on eggshells, relying solely on banking services."

In a way, local cooperatives were similar to politicians.

To bring innovation to rural communities, what they needed most was courage.

"If you just summon the courage, we can do this. Let's do what local cooperatives were originally meant to do."

"What..." Park Tae-gang asked, his face clouded with worry. "What do I need to do?"

The Mir Agricultural Cooperative Central Branch convened a board of directors meeting, summoning all branch managers and cooperative executives.

Twenty minutes before the meeting, the village head of Samjeong-ri, Doma-myeon, who had arrived early, gasped in shock after hearing a brief explanation from Park Tae-gang.

"Tae-gang, have you lost your mind?"

"Do we have any other choice?"

"There's no way the cooperative members will go along with this...!"

"Village Head, it's been a while."

Right then, Yun-hyeok appeared and greeted him.

"Yun-hyeok?"

The village head's eyes widened.

They had worked closely together in the past to remodel and save Doma Elementary School.

"Was it you who called this board meeting, Yun-hyeok?"

"Yes, sir. Along with the cooperative president here."

"What! Wait a minute. Tae-gang, in that case, I'm all for it."

The village head of Doma quickly flipped his stance.

The cooperative executives began to trickle in. Soon, the meeting room was packed with about forty people.

"Everyone," Yun-hyeok began to speak.

"Originally, there were six agricultural cooperatives in Mir City. But through the merger, one disappeared, leaving only five branches. You all know this well, don't you? There is no guarantee that the remaining five branches won't close down either. In fact, if we keep going like this, they definitely will."

The grand merger of Mir City's local cooperatives, pushed semi-forcibly by the National Federation, had been a massive shock to the cooperative presidents as well.

Their voting rights within the National Federation had plummeted from six votes to just one.

It forced them to face the harsh reality that agriculture in Mir City was truly doomed.

First came the merger, and over time, closure.

It was a predetermined path.

"Isn't this the ending you all anticipate? If anyone here has a successor lined up for their farm, please raise your hand."

No one raised a hand.

Even the village head of Doma-myeon couldn't raise his hand, despite living under the same roof as his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, Jang Yu-ri.

His children processed tomatoes to make jam; they didn't actually farm the tomatoes themselves.

"The city hall wants to revitalize our rural communities through the Smart Farm project. I ask you to invest in it. According to Branch Manager Park Tae-gang here, the cooperative can invest up to two billion won using its assets and reserves."

"What!"

Instantly, an uproar erupted across the boardroom.

"The president has lost his mind!"

"That's not pocket change!"

"We can't do this without the members' consent!"

"Why are you investing that money however you please!"

At that, Park Tae-gang stepped forward. He snatched the microphone from Yun-hyeok and roared.

"That is exactly why I brought the Mayor here and called this board meeting—to ask for your permission!"

"But realistically, who in their right mind would agree to—"

"I agree!"

Suddenly, the village head of Doma-myeon leaped to his feet and shouted.

"I'm all for it! Everyone should agree! Just look at what the Mayor has done for Mir City, starting all the way back with Doma Elementary School. If the Mayor is behind this, I trust him!"

The boardroom buzzed with murmurs.

Park Tae-gang stepped up once more.

"Everyone! We've had countless mayors pass through Mir City, but has city hall ever tried to implement structural reforms to save our local cooperative or our farmers even once?"

"..."

"Isn't this the very first time? Mayor Lee Yun-hyeok only has one year left in his term. We don't have time! Do you honestly think you can survive after he's gone? Do you think the next mayor will attempt anything even close to this?"

The boardroom fell dead silent.

"And let's say we don't invest. What if city hall secures an additional budget and pushes forward anyway? What if the individual farms gathering at the Innovation Valley under the city's lead decide to leave our cooperative?"

"..."

"Are you going to fight city hall, dragging your feet and telling them not to build Smart Farms just to keep those farmers from leaving?"

Yun-hyeok had politely asked for their help, but during his very first meeting with Park Tae-gang, he had made one thing clear: You cannot win by competing against us, so join us.

Once the Innovation Valley was established, the individual farms there would inevitably leave the cooperative in droves, rebelling against the federation's branding and distribution regulations.

"If that happens, the Mir Agricultural Cooperative will simply cease to exist," Park Tae-gang warned.

Yun-hyeok took the microphone back from him.

"The cooperative must not foster a hostile relationship with the local government. I have one year left in my term, but if the next mayor decides to wage war against the cooperative, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won't they start by cutting all kinds of subsidies and support programs?"

"..."

"And this is not a simple contribution. Once the Smart Farm project generates revenue, the cooperative will receive dividends. It is essentially an agricultural REITs investment," Yun-hyeok said.

"Additionally, once this project launches, we will grant priority leasing rights for the youth-targeted Smart Farms to the children of our cooperative members. Let's bring the younger generation back to our rural communities and find a way to survive together. I am confident. The city hall has researched this extensively."

In truth, local agricultural cooperatives did not have much money.

Honestly, it was a miracle they could even scrape together two billion won.

But Yun-hyeok's true target was the National Federation.

By winning over the branch manager and seizing control of the local cooperative, he could leverage that power to strike a deal with the National Federation.

16 Saemunan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul.

5th Floor, National Headquarters of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Park Tae-gang had requested a meeting with the board in his capacity as cooperative president, and Yun-hyeok sat in as a representative of the public-private partnership.

"Go in strong, Branch Manager. I'll mediate from the middle," Yun-hyeok whispered as they walked.

Yun-hyeok headed toward the seminar room alongside President Park Tae-gang.

"Don't worry. I've got plenty of pent-up anger of my own."

Slam!

Park Tae-gang threw the door open, walked in, and after a brief greeting, cut straight to the chase.

"Mir City is going to build Smart Farms!"

Beside him, Yun-hyeok immediately translated his words into polished, diplomatic language.

"The Smart Farm Innovation Valley promoted by Mir City is a legitimate business aimed at increasing farm household income. As a non-profit organization dedicated to local farmers, the local cooperative intends to actively support this project."

"Let's be honest! The National Federation has only focused on banking while letting the distribution structure go to hell, leaving real farmers in the dust!" Park Tae-gang shouted.

Yun-hyeok refined it once more.

"The National Federation is an entity that must support the self-reliance of local cooperatives and the welfare of farmers, an obligation clearly stated in its articles of incorporation."

"If you have even a shred of conscience, you should at least invest in our Smart Farms!"

"The Mir City Smart Farm Innovation Valley is projected to be highly profitable and is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the local cooperative and its farming residents. We request that you provide financial investment and support for the distribution network."

"If you're not going to help and only plan to slap us with regulations..."

Park Tae-gang took a deep breath.

He glared fiercely and spat out:

"Our Mir Agricultural Cooperative will stop treating this place like a farmers' union, write you off as a goddamn banking corporation, and withdraw from the federation entirely!"

"As the president mentioned, the Mir Agricultural Cooperative is currently considering withdrawing from the National Federation to secure new business ventures and break free from the deficit-ridden structure of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠existing distribution network to maximize profitability."

Yun-hyeok submitted a petition signed by the cooperative members.

It was a written consent form signed by 847 out of 1,102 cooperative members, gathered by the branch managers who had pounded the pavement.

"W-what on earth is all this?!"

Bang Se-hyeon, the Chairman of the National Federation, felt a sudden wave of dizziness, as if he had been brutally blindsided.