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A study on the consumer cooperative movements in mining areas by the relief and rehabilitation committee in Won-ju in 1970∼1980s

  • The Review of Korean History
  • 2012, (108), pp.343-409
  • Publisher : The Historical Society Of Korea
  • Research Area : Humanities > History

Kim So Nam 1

1국사편찬위원회

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on analyzing the consumer cooperative movements in mining areas by the relief and rehabilitation committee in Won-ju in 1970～1980’s. In March 1973, the relief and rehabilitation committee in Won-ju started the ‘long lasting relief program’ in the mining areas financed by Deutscher Caritas. At the time, the labor of korean miners is rather dangerous and burdensome work and also they face such hardships as difficult traffic,expensive price of commodities, as their villages are located in remote mountainous valleys, as they are living a desperate life owing to the low level of wage, bad environments of dwelling and lack of welfare facilities. So, the relief and rehabilitation committee promoted the Organization and operation of consumers’ cooperatives in miners’ villages in Kangwondo(1977～1981) under the support from Misereor to establish the Consumers’ Cooperatives and the Council of Consumers’ Cooperatives in order to enhance the socio-economic status of miners. The Continuation for 2 years of the promotion of Consumers’Cooperatives in Miners’ Villages(1981～1983) was promoted by the Social Development committee and the main targets of this project was to strengthen the consumers’ cooperatives and the Council of Consumers’ Cooperatives in mining villages through various educations and guiding the operations managements. As a result, the miners’ credit unions and the miners’ Consumers’ Cooperatives as a subsidiary business of the credit unions could be activated and the Council of Consumers’ Cooperatives could be arranged based on the independence. The Social Development committee executed the project under the support from Misereor so successfully that its results was quickly introduced to many industrial trade unions nationwide through the National league of Miners’ Trade Unions. Thus, they were not satisfied only with its success, but also tried to extend it to other trade unions to promote the general cooperative movement of korean workers who are forbidden regular labor strife. So they promoted the expansion and promotion of Consumers’Cooperatives with Trade Unions based on Consumers’ Cooperatives in mining areas(1983～1987). This project was characterized by strengthening the existing business of miners' consumers’ cooperatives and at the same time spreading it out to nationwide trade unions to motivate the national movement of consumers’ cooperatives. They promoted this movement,based on the 7 Cooperative Principles, as a symbol of the cooperatives business of the National Trade Union Confederation and tried out the expansion of the Consumers’ Cooperatives movement. In the early 1980’s, the consumers’ cooperatives were restricted in their growth as they had been promoted as a subsidiary business of the credit unions without their own law. The miners’ consumers’ cooperatives,therefore, required a new reorganization for self-supporting account system apart from the credit unions with their own law. So, the Social Development committee impelled the independence of the miners’consumers cooperatives through the approval of the Economic Planning Board to the National Federation of Consumer’s Cooperatives, but it was failed until 1987 and the miners’ consumers cooperatives were left as a subsidiary business of the credit unions under the Consumers’ Cooperative Federation of the National Trade Union Confederation. The cooperative movement in the mining areas led by the Social Development committee induced the leaders and members of the coal mine labor unions to an awakening to the reality of the mining villages through various educations, local courses and live-in training courses. As the activities in trade unions stagnated and the leaders grew less enthusiastic because of the restriction of labor movement, that movement was convinced them of the fact that the economic cooperation was essential to the workers and activated the dull trade union by promotion consumers cooperatives in them. So, they were able to play a role to achieve the democratization of the unions and the labor movement in mining areas.

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