Nonghyup, Shinhyup in trouble

By Kang Seung-woo

The nation’s financial watchdog has been investigating whether local mutual cooperatives violated rules on household loan extensions amid snowballing household debt, sparked by the non-banking sector.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Monday, it launched an investigation into 50 branches of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, and National Credit Union Federation of Korea, or Shinhyup, last week to check into irregularities concerning their extension of household loans.

The FSS believes the two mutual cooperative funds issued loans in violation