Kang Ho-dong, chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, has won a second term as head of the International Cooperative Agricultural Organisation (ICAO), beginning a new four-year mandate. His re-election at the ICAO general assembly in Panama on the 14th also returns him to the board of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Established in 1951 under the ICA, the ICAO has 45 member institutions from 35 countries and represents about 1 billion cooperative members worldwide. It focuses on food security, agricultural development and cooperation among its members. Kang took office in July 2024 to complete his predecessor's term and also serves on the ICA board and the ICA Asia and Pacific regional office (ICA-AP) board. The federation said he helped lead efforts to hold the 2025 ICAO general assembly in Seoul, marking the United Nations-declared 2025 International Year of Cooperatives. Kang said stronger cooperative solidarity is urgently needed amid the climate crisis and food-security pressures facing global agriculture, and pledged to pursue a sustainable future for rural communities in which farmers are respected.