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Yoo Jae-gi (19 June 1905 – 14 July 1949) was a Korean Presbyterian pastor.

Life
Born in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, he went to Soongsil College in Pyongyang. While attending Soongsil, he interacted with Bae Min-soo, and was introduced to Cho Man-sik by Bae Min-soo, and became interested in the Christian-based rural movement.

After graduating from Soongsil, he graduated from Pyongyang Seminary in 1934 and became a pastor. In 1935, he served as a pastor in various regions of Gyeongsangbuk-do. Yoo Jae-gi had already intended for a rural movement that used the church as a basic organization, such as publishing "Cooperative Theory" in 1933 in the Chosun Ilbo, which contained opinions on the establishment of cooperatives in the church.

Following the establishment of a cooperative in Chilgok-gun to practice this theory, after he was appointed as a pastor in Uiseong-gun, he tried to grow a youth organization in the church and use it as a driving force for the patriotic enlightenment movement. However, Yoo Jae-gi was arrested as the mastermind when the Nongwoo Association incident occurred in 1938. In the end, he was sentenced to one year in prison by the Daegu District Court the following year.

After being released from prison, he has cooperated with the Japanese colonial government. In 1941, when Choi Ji-hwa was elected president of the 30th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, he became the chairman of the Gyeongbuk Presbyterian Church. During this period, the Presbyterian Church actively cooperated in the war by conducting a fundraising campaign to donate the fighter jet "Joseon Presbyterian Patriotic Flag" or participating in the construction of Buyeo Shrine, a Shinto temple, to provide labor services. At that time, Yoo Jae-ki served as a pastor of Daegu Jeil Church and led the wartime preservation activities of the Presbyterian Church in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

In recognition of his service in the Nongwoo Association case, he was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1995. However, it is also included in the Protestant section of the list of prospective candidates for the National Institute of Humanities' Pro-Japanese Dictionary released in 2008.

Award

 * Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of Merit in 1995, Cancelled in 2010

See more

 * the Nongwoo Association case
 * Daegu First Church

Reference

 * Yoo Jae-ki: Meritorious Record of Independence Merit - Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs