우리나라 사회적 기업의 과제와 발전방향에 관한 법적 고찰 －유럽의 사회적 기업 발전경험과 관련하여－

Social enterprises are normally described as a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, these private entrepreneurial initiatives that are characterized by explicit social goals are grounded in the long-standing European tradition of cooperatives, charities and non-profit organizations. Organizations other than investor-owned and public agencies existed for centuries, but they started to develop more intensively in the middle of the 19th century all over Europe, following the process of democratization, industrialization, nation-state building, and the development of social movements. Social enterprises have roots in the history of self-organization though charities linked to the churches or mutual aid organizations in worker movements, as well as associations and self-help groups,which were all characterized by direct forms of participation of producers and users in goods and services delivery. Against this background, the cooperative movement succeeded in combining the principles of economic security, social freedom, and political participation. At the end of the 19th century cooperatives performed an important role as economic and social institutions also in Europe. The first cooperative experiences were a spontaneous defensive response on the part of the working class to the harsh conditions dictated by the industrial revolution. Mutual aid societies were set up by workers and trade unions to provide common insurance and assistance. By promoting the interests of their members, cooperatives contributed to improving the quality of life of large disadvantaged segments of society. Noteworthy is that cooperatives were originally not only economic institutions, but also social institutions recreating solidarity and collective self-help. Indeed, the meaning of the cooperative movement was expressed by the slogan ‘one forall, and all for one’, which emphasizes the concept of solidarity that it incorporates. In all the aforementioned cases, the driving objective of the entrepreneurial activity and the salient characteristic of the corporate culture embedded were the sharing of a common social ideal, including solidarity,equality, and justice. Alongside the development of a vibrant cooperative sector in all European countries, the system of charitable service provision dating back to the MiddleAges gained an important role. Charities and other types of non-profit organizations spread in the social service sectors and covered a relevant role until they were replaced by a system of public welfare services. Since the beginning of the 20th century, as a result of the development offledging welfare states, the fight against poverty, and the promotion of the weakest segments of the population, the public interest and the re-distributive functions, alongside most social and health services, have been increasingly taken on by the central and local government. Thus, key social goods were removed from private control and started to be provided by law to all citizens and funded by public funds through the setting up of a central administration and anew cadre of civil servants. As a result of the expansion of both the welfare states and trade union movements, as well as the development of competitivemarkets in a number of economic sectors, poverty became increasingly lesspressing. I believe the research of European experiences of the social economy and social enterprise, even though it has different historical background, will bring lots of suggestion to solve the urgent Korean problem of the social issues. This study including some suggestions concerning development scheme of social enterprises in Korea will help to move one step forwa.