coronavirus surrounding the world Source: Shutterstock.

On Tuesday, WOCCU announced the formation of a new COVID-19 Response Committee to assist credit unions around the world with identifying best practices and strategies in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement, WOCCU Board Director and National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) Chair & President Younsik Kim will chair the committee.

As the leader of the new committee, he will lead the group to help credit unions mitigate the health and economic impacts of the crisis through:

  • Advocacy;
  • Member support;
  • Digitization;
  • Community support; and
  • Business continuity.

NACUFOK has been a leader in South Korea's COVID-19 response, providing loan support services, and donating $1.76 million (U.S. dollars) and 200,000 masks to help its member credit unions, according to Kim.

Kim Younsik Kim Younsik

"The Korean credit union system is committed to keeping members and staff safe, while ensuring they can adapt and respond to the economic impacts of the pandemic," Kim said. "We are also committed to helping credit unions around the world devise a comprehensive strategy to not only survive this crisis but thrive in the future."

According to the statement from WOCCU, the COVID-19 Response Committee will hold its first meeting on Aug. 27, and its first in a series of bimonthly webinars on Sept. 17.

Other members of the committee include:

  • Greg Michlig, chief engagement officer, CUNA
  • Elenita San Roque, CEO, Asian Confederation of Credit Unions
  • George Ombado, CEO, African Confederation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives
  • Adrian Rodriguez, CEO, Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Costa Rica

WOCCU officials said they plan on posting more information on the resources and future webinars on its COVID-19 resource page.

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Michael Ogden

Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.