Korea Announces a “Basic Plan for Cooperatives” Every Three Years

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 In Korea, the Framework Act on Cooperatives was enacted in 2012. Since then, the government has announced a “Basic Plan for Cooperatives” every three years, presenting policy goals to guide the direction of cooperatives and promote their activities over the next three years.

 

The 1st Basic Plan for Cooperatives was announced in 2014 (2014–2016), the 2nd in 2017 (2017–2019), the 3rd in 2020 (2020–2022), and the 4th in 2023 (2023–2025). On April 6, 2026, the 5th Basic Plan for Cooperatives was newly announced. The 5th plan will be applied from 2026 to 2028.

 

In this article, I will organize the overall direction of the Basic Plans for Cooperatives that have been announced so far.

 

Background of the Basic Plan for Cooperatives

 

Why is the Basic Plan for Cooperatives established every three years?

The reason is presented in the 1st Basic Plan for Cooperatives announced in 2014. At that time, Korean society was transitioning from a period of rapid economic growth to a mature stage, facing conflicting challenges of increasing welfare expenditures and maintaining fiscal soundness. At the same time, social concern was growing over employment instability and polarization, particularly regarding the crisis of small self-employed businesses and the middle class.

 

In this context, cooperatives were proposed as a complementary business model capable of responding to diverse social needs.

 

In particular, the 1st plan was established about one year after the enforcement of the Framework Act on Cooperatives (December 2012), and through a fact-finding survey, the government confirmed the direction that “it is necessary to build a foundation for the self-reliance of cooperatives and create conditions for their sustainable development.”

 

Directions and goals of the 1st to 4th Basic Plans for Cooperatives

 

The Four Key Priority Areas Announced in the 1st Basic Plan for Cooperatives (Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Korea Policy Briefing)


👉1st Basic Plan for Cooperatives (2014–2016)

 

It was promoted with the goal of “building a foundation for the self-reliance of cooperatives.”

The structure was designed so that the private sector would take a leading role based on the principles of autonomy, independence, and self-governance, while the government would provide indirect support by creating a favorable environment.

 

🌱Key tasks:

Expanding opportunities for market participation

Improving access to finance

Expanding education and attracting human resources

Activating networks among cooperatives

 

👉2nd Basic Plan for Cooperatives (2017–2019)

 

It was established focusing on creating quality jobs and strengthening self-sustainability.

Although the number of cooperatives increased after the 1st plan, limitations emerged in areas such as financing, professional workforce development, and the activation of federations. Accordingly, policies were designed to address these issues.

 

🌲Key tasks:

Strengthening self-sustainability (market access, financing, management capacity)

Expanding employment-friendly sectors

Strengthening networks and cooperation

Improving public awareness

 

👉3rd Basic Plan for Cooperatives (2020–2022)

 

This plan focused on evaluating and supplementing previous plans.

While the growth potential of cooperatives was confirmed, limitations in scale and industry diversity, a central government–focused structure, and low public awareness were identified as challenges. Accordingly, the vision of the “COOP 2.0” era was set, and the following directions were proposed.

 

🌳Key tasks:

Expanding into new sectors

Strengthening solidarity among cooperatives

Promoting region-based operations

Improving regulations

Enhancing education and public awareness

 

👉4th Basic Plan for Cooperatives (2023–2025)

 

The 4th Basic Plan was established at the 10th anniversary of the Framework Act on Cooperatives and presented policy tasks for the renewed growth of cooperatives as key actors in sustainable development.

 

In evaluating the outcomes of previous plans, it was noted that cooperatives contributed to business growth and job creation, played a role in solving community problems, built foundations for cooperation and solidarity, and established legal, institutional, and support infrastructures.

 

However, despite quantitative growth, most cooperatives remained small in scale, with limited post-establishment growth. In addition, there were limitations in entering social service sectors, insufficient capacity of federations, a need to strengthen transparency in the cooperative ecosystem, and structural limitations in growth support due to intermediary organizations focusing mainly on establishment support.

 

🌴Key tasks:

Strengthening competitiveness as enterprises

Enhancing roles in solving community problems

Expanding solidarity and cooperation

Strengthening transparency

 

Conclusion

 

In Korea, cooperatives grow through policy. In other words, policy—not the market—shapes their direction. In particular, Korea’s cooperative policy is characterized by the fact that it has continuously fostered and guided cooperatives through policy, rather than treating them as merely an organizational form. The recently announced 5th plan also presents the direction for cooperative development over the next three years.

 

In this article, I reviewed the directions of the 1st to 4th Basic Plans for Cooperatives. In the next article, I will examine in detail the contents and changes in direction of the newly announced 5th Basic Plan for Cooperatives.

 

Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Korea Policy Briefing

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