"Won-taek Lee: 'Forest cooperatives charge high interest rates to forestry workers with low income... delinquency rate surges'"

(Kimje=Yonhap News) Reporter Baek Do-in = An argument has emerged that the delinquency rate of forestry workers is sharply rising due to high-interest loans from local forestry cooperatives.

According to the national audit materials received by Democratic Party of Korea Representative Lee Won-taek (Jeonbuk Gunsan-Kimje-Buan) from the Central Association of Forestry Cooperatives, the delinquency rate of local forestry cooperatives currently stands at 7.46% as of the second quarter of 2025.

The delinquency rate of local forestry cooperatives has sharply increased from 1.50% in 2021, to 1.77% in 2022, 3.41% in 2023, and 5.68% in 2024.

Even compared to the delinquency rate of 4.88% of local agricultural cooperatives as of 2025, it is significantly higher.

This is due to low-income forestry workers being unable to afford the high interest rates, as well as the sharp decline in the auction award rate of the pledged forestry land, according to the representative.

The representative stated, "The number of auctions of pledged forestry land is sharply increasing, but the award rate is not even reaching half," and called for the establishment of a comprehensive plan, including the formulation of an all-around strategy to respond to non-performing loans.