The Korean Association of Retired Persons (KARP, President Juch Myong-Yong) has decided to actively move forward with the establishment of a medical welfare social cooperative, as resolved at its regular general assembly held in December last year.

On January 30,KARP convened a preparatory committee meeting for the cooperative’s establishment at its conference room in Gwangjang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. At the meeting, the committee agreed to provisionally name the cooperative “DAEUN Medical Welfare Social Cooperative” and appointed Dr. Baek Seung-Cheol, a specialist physician, as Chair of the Preparatory Committee.

At the meeting, the committee defined the objectives of the cooperative as follows:
▶ Establishing a primary care physician (family doctor) system for members and their families
▶ Promoting various public-interest projects that contribute to member welfare and the cooperative’s financial sustainability
▶ Providing diverse job participation opportunities for members
▶ Reducing the burden of medical expenses and preventing unnecessary medical costs
▶ Offering health consultations and support services
▶ Expanding medical benefits in the long term through scaling up operations and facilities

Going forward, the Preparatory Committee plans to proceed with recruiting founding members, drafting the articles of incorporation, collecting consent from prospective members, announcing and holding the inaugural general assembly, and applying for official approval. The cooperative aims to complete the establishment process within the year.

To establish a medical welfare social cooperative, consent from at least 500 founding members is required. Each consenting member must make a minimum capital contribution of 50,000won.

Once established, the medical welfare social cooperative is expected to generate synergy by linking with general cooperatives and other social cooperatives operating under the umbrella of the Korean Association of Retired Persons.

Participants in the preparatory subcommittee meeting included Juch Myong-Yong, Baek Seung-Cheol, Lee Chang-Jik, Son Gwi-Ja, Park Chang-Yong, Lee Seok-Koo, and Kim Yeon-Jung.