1960년대 박정희 정권의 농업협동조합 개편과 성격

The Agricultural Cooperative Reorganization and its Characteristic in the 1960s under the Park Jeong-hui Government

A cooperative is an organization which leads various business in cooperation with each other through the mutual aid of the economically challenged. After the farmland reform, the necessity of an agricultural cooperative was raised in farming areas as the number of small-scale independent farmers increased. In the late 1950s, the agricultural cooperative, and the agricultural bank were established separately. There was a discussion about the integration of these two institutions during the period of the Jang Myeon government, but it failed to be realized because of its short ruling period. Integration of the agricultural coop and the agricultural bank was resolutely carried out by the Park, Jeong-hui government after May 16 coup. The president of the central federation and cooperative representative of various levels in the re-organized agricultural cooperative were appointed by the government. The re-organized agricultural cooperative also relied more on the government for finance and projects that farmers. The Park, Jeong-hui government’s action was plainly the negation of the agricultural cooperative. The Ri-Dong cooperative having farmers as coop members became powerless, whereas the authority of the Si-Gun cooperatives and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, which carried out the government-commissioned projects and financial services, became excessively bulky. In the agricultural administration of the Park, Jeong-hui government in the 1960s, the agricultural coop achieved quantitative growth and organizational alignment, but it came to have the factors like a back-scratching alliance with the government, and the government’s direct strengthening of influence. Considering the then farming area situation, no one can deny the government’s aggressive role in the agricultural coop. Also, there were some unavoidable aspects in relation to appointments of discharged soldiers, or the former pubic officials by the government order. However, it is doubtful that the then government intervention had to be conducted definitely in a controlled way other than support. The agricultural coop made a success as the government’s control agency over rural society, but it failed as a cooperative. The failure of the agricultural coop means the disappearance of one of the possibilities that it could have become an efficient main agency of economic activity in the farming villages.