hankyoreh

chairman of the Seoul Retiree Cooperative.

By Lee Hyun-sook, director of the Hankyoreh Economy Institute

Woo Jae-ryong, 52, chairman of the Seoul Retiree Cooperative, worked in finance for 23 years. He was the first to design the installment fund and managed a fund appraiser. Woo quit his job as a retirement planning specialist at a finance company’s research center earlier this year. In March, he founded the co-operative for retirees.

Woo said, “Two years ago, I came across a ‘participatory model for the elderly’ when I went to the US on business. A happy life after retirement would be cooperating and living with people of various ages. I wanted to make a Korean version of the model that allows retirees to participate in economic and social activities and not be alienated from society.”

Kim Jung-ho

Kim Jung-ho, 48, is the president of “Bear Better”, a social enterprise. He worked in the information and communications industry for 21 years. He was in charge of the global business sector of Korea’s largest portal service, after having held several positions in the finance departments of large corporations. Kim was also a generous participant in philanthropic activities. In 2012, he quit his work and began his community service by establishing “Bear Better”, which provides job opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.

Kim said, “There are many people around me who have children with autism or other intellectual disabilities, so it was natural for me to help them. At first, I made a facility that took care of them on a temporary basis. Then I realized that they have difficulties in communicating with ordinary people, which made it difficult for them to find jobs.”

The number of people with developmental disabilities who work with Kim at “Bear Better” increased to 65 in just one year. The company began with printing, bookbinding and name-card services. It has expanded to coffee roasting and baking.

As baby boomers, those born between 1955 and 1963, have started retiring, there have been more retirees participating in co-operative and social enterprises.

In fact, 60-70% of people who received counseling from the Korea Foundation for Social Investment were older than 50. The Ministry of Health and Welfare predicted that retirement for 7.12 million baby boomers is expected to reach its peak in the next 10 years. Seoul Retiree Cooperative predicted that 16 million people will retire in the next 20 years when 9 million of the latter baby-boomer generation (people born between 1964 and 1974) is taken into account.

“The word ‘retire’ refers to ‘changing the tire’. People think that when they retire, they will have nothing to do. But retirement actually means a fresh start by changing the tire, but still rolling for the rest of their lives. There has been an increase in the number of people wanting to participate in meaningful economic activities that have social value in the latter years of their lives,” Woo said.

But the co-operative and social enterprises are facing a grim reality. Kim said, “It is practically impossible for social enterprises to make a profit.” He utilizes the personal network he built throughout his life, but managing a business is never easy. Even if the product is cheap and has social value, it is difficult for the clients to stop trading with the original supplying company. As the productivity of workers with developmental disabilities is comparatively low, the enterprise has to work extra hard.

The experts advise the retirees, who have interests in social enterprises or the co-operative, to invest a lot of time into their preparation.

Woo said, “Managing the co-operative is far more difficult than managing an ordinary business.” It may seem easy to establish one, but reconciling different views to reach consensus is harder than expected. Many new members of the co-operative ask what it can do for them. Song Moon-gang, the team manager of iCOOP Korea, said, “People with different occupations are interested in the co-operative, but only 5% of them have specific business plans. They need to be aware that co-operatives might fail and that there could be more burden than with starting an ordinary company.”

Lee Chul-jong, the chairman of “Working Together Corporation”, emphasizes the importance of having the mindset of someone who has just entered the real world. Lee gave two pieces of advice based on his experience working with the board members of large corporations. According to him, it is essential to understand and accept the culture of a small community and have the open mind of a novice, who would be willing to carry out any tasks.

Lee said, “In social enterprises or the co-operative, one person needs to take various roles, at the starting stages of any other ordinary company. People who have worked in large, bureaucratic organizations are used to making orders and managing others. Rather than insisting on the familiar role that they are used to, it is crucial to be open-minded. They need to think that they can complete any tasks, like a new worker who has just entered the real world. These kinds of efforts will enable them to accept the culture of a small community.”

Jung Tae-in, director of the Institute for Opening a New Society, commented that building trust among those wishing to work together is the priority. This indicates that the co-operative and social enterprises can develop through trust and cooperation. But trust is built gradually, which means that it is important not to rush into things.

Translated by Kang Soo-bin, Hankyoreh English intern

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