[비즈한국] iCOOP, which has grown into the nation's largest consumer cooperative, is facing a liquidity crisis. As repayments for member loans are being delayed, anxiety is mounting among members who have deposited funds amounting to hundreds of millions of won. Previously, iCOOP had already raised suspicions regarding its financial state due to delayed payments to "Natural Dream" suppliers. With the issue of member loans now surfacing, industry experts suggest that the management instability long rumored has finally come to light.
“It’s My Entire Life Savings”: Issues Surface Over Member Loan Repayments
Well-known for its organic and eco-friendly food brand "Natural Dream" and paper-carton bottled water "Gipunmul," iCOOP (iCOOP Consumer Life Cooperative Federation) is one of the leading consumer cooperatives in South Korea. Having grown based on regional co-ops, it has expanded its business scope into food production, distribution, and logistics, and has been aggressively expanding its operations, including the development of "Natural Dream Parks" in Goesan and Gurye.
The liquidity issues involving iCOOP and its affiliates surfaced around mid-August. On the 13th of last month, iCOOP announced through its Natural Dream website that it had established a "Special Crisis Response Committee." iCOOP explained, "During the management efficiency process, issues of mismanagement in some entities were identified, and the process of correcting them led to a situation where member trust was shaken." The company added that it would transparently disclose innovation plans based on the special committee's findings and establish a fundamental system to prevent recurrence.
At the same time, stories began to emerge among members that they were not receiving timely repayments for matured loans. The money deposited by iCOOP members is largely divided into "contribution capital" and "loans." Contribution capital is in the nature of equity capital paid to become a member of the cooperative. Loans, on the other hand, are funds lent by members to the cooperative or its affiliated entities. It is reported that members deposited their spare funds based on trust in iCOOP and its affiliates, receiving annual interest rates of 4–10% according to their contracts.
An official from the "iCOOP Unfair Management Emergency Response Committee" said, "Loans were supposed to be repaid the next day upon request for withdrawal. However, members who requested refunds or had loans reach maturity were recently informed that the terms had changed and were told to wait for more than six months." The official claimed, "There are quite a few members who have entrusted their entire life savings or retirement money as loans. Among members, anxiety is growing over whether they will be able to get their hundreds of millions of won back."
Currently, iCOOP is holding briefing sessions on loan repayment plans for its members. However, attendees complain that there are no explanations regarding practical repayment schedules or amounts, and only repeated requests for patience and cooperation.
The total scale of member loans across all iCOOP-related entities has not been disclosed. However, it is known that for about 20 related entities whose audit reports were verified, the member loans alone amounted to approximately 80 billion won at the end of last year. Given that there were about 70 iCOOP-related organizations as of 2024, some observers speculate that the actual total scale of member loans could be even higher.
BizHankook contacted iCOOP regarding the delayed loan repayments and management situation, but did not receive a response.
Delayed Payments to Natural Dream Suppliers… Due to Excessive Business Expansion?
Rumors of iCOOP's management crisis have been circulating since last year, as suppliers providing goods to Natural Dream faced issues with receiving timely payments. An industry source stated, "Suppliers for Natural Dream have been waiting for payments for a long time. Companies that have not been paid for about a year have been pulling their goods from Natural Dream, which has significantly reduced the inventory in stores," adding, "I understand that the outstanding payments exceed 100 billion won."
Recently, some business sites operated by iCOOP affiliates have also seen operational disruptions, including closures. The Goesan Natural Dream Park, a multi-cultural space, suspended the operations of some restaurants within the park starting this month, and consequently, the sale of package products that included dining has also stopped. The hotel operated in Kanazawa, Japan, also announced that it would suspend operations until January 2027, citing facility maintenance.
Even in this situation, members are criticizing iCOOP for once again trying to put out the fire by relying on members' money. Since the 2nd, iCOOP has been soliciting "Natural Dream Protector Special Contributions." Among members, there is criticism asking, "Is it appropriate to request funds from members again when they haven't even properly presented a repayment plan for existing loans?"
iCOOP began changing its business direction around 2019. It added the concepts of "healing" and "life care" to its existing business focused on eco-friendly food production and distribution. Centered around Natural Dream Parks, it successively established oriental medicine clinics, healing programs, and sports healing facilities, and even expanded into the accommodation sector, such as operating a hotel in the Kanazawa hot spring area in Japan.
Industry experts argue that the speed and scale of such business expansion were excessive. One industry source noted, "The scale of investment, such as creating large-scale Natural Dream Parks, was significant," adding, "Although it started based on a cooperative, the continuous increase in related entities and businesses has made the entire structure so complex that it is difficult for outsiders to grasp at a glance." Another source mentioned, "Food distribution is not fundamentally a high-margin business," adding, "Under such a structure, it is possible that financial pressure has increased because they pursued large-scale projects requiring tens of billions of won in succession."
It is also pointed out that the scale of member loans grew rapidly along with the aggressive business expansion. An official from the Emergency Response Committee said, "In the past, when pursuing new businesses, they would set the required amount, solicit loans, and end the solicitation once the target amount was reached. Back then, they raised funds within a repayable range." The official added, "However, the problem is that since 2023, loan solicitations continued even in situations where repayment capacity was insufficient."
It has been confirmed that some members are currently preparing legal responses. There is an atmosphere of reviewing countermeasures, such as joint lawsuits, centered around members who have not received loan repayments. The Emergency Response Committee stated, "They must honestly inform members of the current situation and allow the collective members to respond together. They need to transparently disclose the total scale of loans, the methods and schedules for repayment, and discuss this with members," adding, "A cooperative is an organization that shares information and makes decisions together with its members. The current situation where there is no communication must not continue."