A Study on the Ownership and Governance Structure of Fisheries Cooperative

수산업협동조합의 소유지배구조에 관한 연구

Fisheries cooperative requires dual characteristics in performing its original function. Economic characteristic as an business enterprise and democratic characteristic as cooperative entity need to complete its objectives and survive in the complex rapidly-changing environment. After IMF crisis, fisheries cooperative received enormous government's financial support and credit-business department is perfectly under government's control. Regional fisheries cooperative also faces business failure, therefore pure cooperative movement can't save the fisheries cooperative. Economic characteristic as an business enterprise is more emphasized than democratic characteristic as cooperative entity in recent years. The theory of corporate ownership and governance can be applied to explain the ownership and governance of fisheries cooperative because fisheries cooperative is now similar to an business enterprise. During the IMF crisis the board, the auditors and the minority shareholders in business enterprise were revealed to be powerless against the mighty influence of controlling shareholders. Unconstrained discretion exercised by those controlling shareholders not only led to the firms'insolvency, but also brought down the country's financial system. During the past few years, Korea has experienced many institutional changes regarding its corporate governance structure. The introduction of outside directors, the strengthening of minority shareholders' rights, and enhanced accounting transparency are achieved to improve the efficiency of economic system. Investors, including institutional and individual, also seem to be more aware of governance issues now. Credit-business department of fisheries cooperative is recommended to introduce the institutions same as the case of the corporate governance structure. Fisheries cooperative except economic and credit-business department requires other prescriptions because it is emphasized as democratic cooperative entity. But we should be careful to interpret the ownership and governance structure because they are products of nations, eras and organizations.