After the declaration of national democracy on June 29, 1987, member farmers wanted to democratize agricultural cooperatives. Opinions from member farmers, staff members, scholars and specialists were sought. The NACF held seminars and workshops from the second half of 1987 to the end of 1988. The Agricultural Cooperative Law was amended to reflect most of the agricultural cooperative recommendations, even though there were disputes on some clauses, for example, the clauses on government restrictions on cooperative business.

  Elections of the Presidents of Primary Cooperatives and the NACF

The interim law for the appointment of agricultural cooperative board members was
abolished, and member farmers could elect the presidents of the primary cooperatives directly under the new law. In addition, the president of the NACF, formerly appointed by the national president in accordance with the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), now was to be elected by the presidents of the primary cooperatives. Under the revised law the number of the board members increased from six to nineteen. Eleven members out of the total were non-standing members, composed of the presidents of primary cooperatives. The remaining eight standing members were specialized managers.

  Autonomy and Beginning of the New Agricultural Cooperative Movement

Under the revised law, the agricultural cooperatives gained more autonomy eliminating clauses restricting their self-control. The prior consent of the Minister of MAF for the business plans and budgets were no longer required. Only subsidized businesses or credit projects of the government needed the Minister's prior approval. Auditing the member cooperatives by the local government was also abolished.

The revised law greatly expanded the business scope of the agricultural cooperatives to include the brokerage business related to the sales of farm land, the transportation business utilizing trucks owned by the cooperatives, the banking business of the special cooperatives, the direct investment in related corporations, the diversification of the investment of the NACF 's surplus funds and the abolition of the limit on credit guarantee as well as bill discounting.

  Lobbying

The agricultural cooperatives tried to affect government policies by lobbying on behalf of member farmers, particularly after the Uruguay Round Negotiations at the end of 1980.

The agricultural cooperatives supported patronizing domestic agricultural products by launching a campaign to counter food-exporting countries mounting pressure to open the domestic market. In November 1991, in a signature collecting campaign against rice imports from foreign countries, the agricultural cooperatives collected 13 million signatures nationwide within 42 days from the time the campaign started. This was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest number of signatures collected in the shortest period ever. During the final stage of the Uruguay Round Negotiations, delegates traveled to Geneva in December 1993 to deliver Korea's strong opposition against the free trade and in particular, the opening of rice markets.

  Expanding Agricultural Marketing and Processing

• Expanding Marketing Facilities

The agricultural cooperatives shut down the poorly performing Cooperative Shipping Groups and old Agricultural Production Groups, to form the new Agricultural Production Group. By the end of 1993, 181 agricultural collection points, 116 cold storage warehouses, and 30 fruit sorting centers had been established. For the first time, modern rice processing complexes for drying, storing, milling and packing harvested rice were established in Dang-Jin as well as in Eui-Sung. The number of agricultural supermarkets increased from 38 to 217, direct marketing stores from 38 to 151, and shipping centers from 1 to 6 between 1990 and 1993. Small agricultural product shopping corners were set up inside most of the NACF branch offices which had previously dealt with banking only.

• Raising deficit compensation funds

The agricultural cooperatives raised 44.7 billion won as deficit compensation funds for losses incurred in marketing, and the NACF provided member cooperatives with 250 billion won for the installation of marketing facilities. The total sales volume of agricultural products by the cooperatives increased from 3 trillion won in 1990 to 5 trillion won in 1993, and their market share increased from 25 percent to 30 percent.

• Processing plants

The agricultural cooperatives were also actively involved in  raising the value added on products, reducing imports of foreign products. Nine processing plants run by cooperatives until 1988 increased to 112 in 1993, and a food-processing department was established at the Agricultural Cooperative College in 1991 to develop specialists in the field.

• Establishment of the Agricultural Cooperative Trading Co., Ltd

The NACF also set up the Korea Agricultural Cooperative Trading Co., Ltd. as a subsidiary company in July 1990 and opened Agricultural Product Shopping Centers in New York, U.S.A. as well as Fukuoka, Japan.

  Expanding Range of Services for Member Farmers

• A stable supply of fertilizers and seeds

The NACF became a major shareholder in the Namhae Chemical Corporation having purchased 25 percent of its shares. The NACF was then able to assure a stable supply of fertilizers at reasonable prices. To provide farmers with quality seeds at reasonable prices, the NACF opened the Seed Breeding Center.

• Farm machinery service centers

The number of farm machinery service centers established in member cooperatives increased to 710 in 1993 to expedite farm mechanization. After a certain member cooperative opened the first farm machinery parts center in Seoul in February 1991, similar centers opened in every province to speed up the provision of machine parts.

• A new insurance policy for farmers

In 1989, the NACF introduced a new insurance policy protecting farmers from financial losses induced by poor health, property damage, injuries,  farm machinery accidents and agricultural chemicals poisoning. To reduce farmers' financial burdens, the agricultural cooperatives have been providing member farmers with funeral services since 1989.

• Other Activities

The NACF has offered the Rural Culture Prize since November 1990 to those who devoted themselves to the development of rural culture. The Housewives Club, Thinking of the Rural Hometowns, organized by graduates of the Agricultural Cooperative Housewives College in January 1993, started to play a key role in bridging the cultural gap between urban and rural societies.