단위노조 차원에서 전개되던 협동조합사업에 한국노총에서 본격적으로 나선 것은 1975년이었다. 노총은 이 해 전국대의원대회에서 종래 산업별 또는 단위조합별로 임의적 산발적으로 해오던 복지활동을 정비하고 전담부서를 두어 중앙에서 체계적으로 전개하기로 결의했다. 노총이 협동조합사업에 전면적으로 나서게 된 이유는 정부의 노동운동 탄압 때문에 명목임금의 인상을 목표로 하는 경제투쟁에 나서기 어려운 상황 에서, 실질임금을 보전할 수 있는 공제사업이 절실하게 요구되었기 때문이다. 당시 소비조합과 구판장은 주로 신용조합과 마을금고에서 운영하는 경우가 많았다. 그런데 이 신용조합과 마을금고의 설립 및 운영 주체를 보면, 회사가 제일 많았고 (46%), 그 다음으로 노사 공동(30%), 노조(24%) 순이었다. 노총의 협동조합 사업은 1981년 6월 1일 협동사업본부를 설치하면서 체계적으로 진행되었다. 협동사업본부는 소비조합의 신규 조직에 역점을 두는 한편, 노조원의 생활복지 보다 이윤 추구를 목적으로 하는 회사 매점과 개인 매점을 노조 소비조합으로 전환시켜 나가는 사업도 수행해야 했다. 협동사업본부는 기존 소비조합과 신규 소비조합을 결속하여 지역별 협의회를 조직했다. 그리고 오랫동안 소비조합을 운영해온 곳을 기간조합으로 육성하여 협동사업의 구심체로 삼았다. 한국노총은 1985년 2월 협동사업본부를 해체하고 소비자협동조합연합회를 창립하여 그 기능을 대신하게 했다. 소비자협동조합연합회는 전국 단위 공동구매 계약 추진과 유통센타 매장 개점에 주력했다. 1990년대에 들어서 노총은 노동금고와 생명보험회사 설립, 근로자 주택 공급에 전력했고, 소비조합에 대한 관심이 약화되면서 소비조합과 구판장은 부실해지거나 침체되었다.

It was in 1975 that the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) took the initiative to organize cooperative projects that had been carried out at the unit union level. At its national congress that year, the FKTU resolved to overhaul welfare activities that had been carried out sporadically by industries and unit unions, and to develop them systematically at the center by establishing a dedicated department. The reason why the FKTU became fully involved in the cooperative business was because the government's repression of the labor movement made it difficult to engage in economic struggles aimed at raising nominal wages, and there was an urgent need for a mutual aid business that could preserve real wages. The reason why the FKTU took full action in the cooperative movement is that it is difficult to expect fundamental improvement in the government's distribution policy and correction of wage control policy, and a mutual aid project that can substantially narrow the gap between living costs and wages was urgently required. At the time, consumer cooperatives and marketplaces were mainly operated by credit unions and village banks. However, when looking at the establishment and operation of these credit unions and village banks, companies were the most common (46%), followed by labor-management joint (30%) and labor unions (24%). The cooperative business of the FKTU was systematized on June 1, 1981, when the cooperative business headquarters was established. While the Cooperative Business Headquarters had to focus on the new organization of consumer associations, it also had to carry out a project to convert company canteens and individual canteens, which were aimed at pursuing profits rather than the welfare of union members, into union consumption associations. The Cooperative Business Headquarters organized regional councils by uniting existing and new consumer associations. In addition, places that had been operating consumer associations for a long time were fostered as base associations and used as the core of cooperative projects. The FKTU disbanded the Cooperative Business Headquarters in February 1985 and established the Consumer Cooperative Federation to take over its functions. The Consumer Cooperative Federation focused on promoting nationwide joint purchasing agreements and opening distribution center stores. In the 1990s, the FKTU focused on establishing labor safes and life insurance companies and providing housing for workers, and a s interest i n consumer u nions w eakened, stores (gupanjang) became insolvent or stagnated.