Chapter 1: General Provisions

Article 1 (Goals)

This corporate body takes as its basis liberal democracy and aims to confirm the whereabouts of those abducted by North Korea during the Korean War, guarantee the human rights and humanitarian treatment of the survivors.

Article 2 (Title)

This corporate body is named the "Korean War Abductees' Family Union" (KWAFU).

Article 3 (Location of Office)

This corporate body's office is located at 317 Cheongryangri-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.

Article 4 (Endeavors)

This corporate body undertakes the following endeavors to achieve the goals listed in Article 1.

1. Find the families of those who were abducted by North Korea during the Korean War
2. Receive administrative support from and exchange information with concerned government institutions
3. Confirm the whereabouts of abductees and their humanitarian treatment
4. Other activities needed to fulfill the goals of the corporate body

Chapter 2: Members

Article 5 (Member Qualifications)

1. Family Member: family members related to the person who was abducted by North Korea during the Korean War
2. Member: an individual who aims to proactively work for the goals of the corporate body
3. Special Member: an organization that aims to proactively work for the goals of the corporate body

Article 6 (Rights and Duties of Members)

Members are required to pay Member dividends and participate in Member meetings. Family Members have the right to vote and are eligible to run for election.

Article 7 (Withdrawing Membership)

All Members are free to withdrawal their membership.

Article 8 (Member Expulsion)

If a Member conducts actions that are in opposition to the goals of the corporate body, actions that damage its reputation or status, or attempts to divide or destroy the corporate body, he/she may be expelled as a Member by the President following a vote by the Executive Committee.

Chapter 3: Board Members

Article 9 (Type and Number of Board Members)

The Board will be composed as follows:
Board Members: minimum 5 Members, maximum 15 Members (including one President)
Auditors: 2

Article 10 (Period of Appointment)

1) Period of appointment for Board Members and Auditors is two years. They may be appointed for successive terms.
2) If, during the appointment period of a Board Member, he/she vacates the position or there is a need to increase the number of Board Members, the new Board Member appointed by election will finish out the remaining term of the previous Board Member or another Board Member.

Article 11 (Appointment and Dismissal of Board Members)

The appointment and dismissal of Board Members will be handled by the General Assembly.

Article 12 (Appointment and Dismissal of President)

1) The President is to be appointed only during an Executive Committee Meeting with more than half of the Board Members present, and by votes of approval from more than half of the Board Members present.
2) The President's period of appointment is the same as the Board Member's period of appointment.

Article 13 (Duties of the President and Board Members)

1) The President represents the corporate body and manages its operation and activities.
2) The Board Members attend Executive Committee Meetings to vote on issues concerning the corporate body's operation and activities and handle issues delegated to them from the Executive Committee or President.

Article 14 (Appointing a Substitute President)

1) If the President is incapacitated, the Board Member in Charge takes over the position of President.
2) If the position of President becomes vacant, a Board Member elected by the Executive Committee takes over the position of President.
3) The election of a substitute President referred to in Clause 2 above must take place with more than half of the Board Members in attendance. The oldest Board Member (by age) in attendance will lead the meeting. A vote of support by more than half of the Board Members in attendance is required to elect a new President.

Article 15 (Duties of Auditors)

The duties of Auditors are as follows:

1) audit finances
2) investigate the operations of the Executive Committee
3) If corrupt or illegal areas are found in the audit of either Clause 1 or 2, the Auditors must demand rectification to the Executive Committee.
4) Auditors may demand the holding of an Executive Committee Meeting to make a report regarding infractions outlined in Clause 3
5) Auditors will testify their findings concerning the financial situation or operations of meetings to the President or at the Executive Committee General Meeting.
6) Auditors will provide signatures to the meeting minutes of General Meetings or Executive Committee Meetings.

Article 16 (Advisors)

The Executive Committee may vote to appoint a small number of advisors.

Chapter 4: General Assembly

Article 17 (Roles of the General Assembly)

The General Assembly votes on the following items:

1) Appointing Board Members
2) Changing the Articles of Incorporation
3) Approving the Budget
4) Approving Endeavor Plans
5) Other Important Items

Article 18 (Convening the General Assembly)

1) The General Assembly may be held on a regular or temporary basis. Regular meetings are to be held once every quarter, and temporary meetings are to be held following a vote by the Executive Committee or when more than 1/5 of the Members formally request a meeting after presenting the goals of such a meeting. In such a case, the President convenes the meeting and becomes its Chairperson.
2) The President must clearly specify the topics to be dealt with at the meeting and notify each Member 7 days before the meeting convenes.
3) The General Assembly may only vote on the topics specified in Clause 2.

Article 19 (General Assembly Quorum)

1) The General Assembly will be convened only when more than half of the Members attend.
2) Only those items that have support from more than half of the Members in attendance may be passed. In case of a tie vote, the Chairperson may give his/her vote to either side to break it.

Chapter 5: Executive Committee

Article 20 (The Roles of the Executive Committee)

The Executive Committee may deliberate and vote on the following:

1. Items related to the operations of the corporate body
2. Items related to the implementation of endeavor plans
3. Items related to the writing of the budget
4. Items delegated to it by the General Assembly
5. Items related to its authority in these Articles of Incorporation
6. Other important items

Article 21 (Convening the Executive Committee Meeting)

1) The Executive Committee Meeting is convened by the President and he/she becomes the Chairperson.
2) The President must specify the items to be handled by the meeting and notify each Board Member 7 days before the date held.
3) The Executive Committee Meeting may vote only on those items specified in Clause 2. However, if all current Board Members concur and are in attendance, a vote on an item not previously specified may be conducted.

The President must convene a meeting at least 20 days after a request for holding a meeting is made in the following circumstances:

1) A demand to convene the meeting by more than half of the current Board Members after they have presented the goals for such a meeting
2) A demand to convene a meeting by the Auditor, in accordance with the regulations in Article 15, Clause 4.

Chapter 6: Assets and Finances

Article 22 (Classification of Assets)

1) Assets are to be classified into "basic assets" and "general assets."
2) The assets in each clause are considered basic assets and general assets are all other assets.

1. Property acquired by donation or free of charge.
2. General assets that are voted to be transferred to basic assets by the General Assembly.
3. Reserves from global surplus finances

Article 23 (Management of Assets)

1) A vote by the Executive Committee and permission from the supervising authority must be obtained when basic assets are sold, donated, lent, exchanged or mortgaged, or the rights for them are renounced.
2) When assets are obtained by purchase or donation, these assets must be transferred into the assets managed by the corporate body.
3) The President decides on how to maintain, preserve and manage basic and general assets, except in those cases outlined in Clauses 1 and 2.

Article 24 (Assets Appraisal)

The appraisal of all the corporate body's assets will be based on the market price at the time they were acquired. However, assets that have been re-appraised will be based on the reappraised price.

Article 25 (Finances)

The corporate body's finances for maintenance and operation are as follows:

1) Member fees
2) Donations
3) Fees coming from basic assets
4) Other revenue
5) Revenue must not be used for the benefit of Members, for the benefit of social good, culture, arts, education, religion, charity, academics, or to support a particularly candidate for elected office.
6) The amount collected from donations and revenue use must be made public through the corporate body's homepage until the end of March of the next year.

Article 26 (Classification of Finances)

1) The corporate body's finances are classified into finances for endeavors and those for profit.
2) In the case of Clause 1, revenue and all related expenses that are subject to taxation by the regulations of corporate body taxation law are to be calculated as finances for profit-making endeavors, and any other revenue and expenses are to be calculated as those for endeavors.
3) In the case of Clause 2, any expenses that cannot be classified as either endeavor finances or profit-making finances should be classified according to the legal regulations on taxation concerning the distribution of joint expenses.

Article 27 (Finance Principles)

The finances of the corporate body will be handled by the principles of enterprise finances based on accurately accounting for business management and profits and all accounts of financial transactions.

Article 28 (Financial Year)

He corporate body's financial year follows that of the South Korean government's.

Article 29 (Obligations Outside of the Budget)

Obligations outside of the budget or the renunciation of bonds must go through a vote of the Executive Committee, obtain permission from the General Assembly, and receive permission from the supervising authority. However, in the case where borrowing funds that cannot be repaid by the profits of the financial year in question,the long-term funds being borrowed must be higher than 5/100 of the amount deducted from the total amount of the basic assets.

Article 30 (Prohibitions on Asset Borrowing by Board Members)

1) The assets of the corporate body may not be borrowed or used by someone who is related with the corporate body or Clause 1 without justified reason.

1. The person who established the corporate body
2. The Board Members of the corporate body
3. Those who fall under Clauses 1 and 2, those who are blood-related to those who fall under regulations of Civil Law Article 777, or the Board Members of another corporate body
4. Those who have a close financial relationship with the corporate body

2) Anyone who does not fall under the regulations of Clause 1 may not borrow or use the assets of the corporate body without justified reason.

Article 31 (Revenue and Expenditure Budget)

The corporate body's revenue and expenditure budget and endeavor plan must be voted upon by the Executive Committee and receive approval by the General Assembly before being submitted to the supervisory authority each year one month before the start of the financial year.

Chapter 7: Supplemental Rules

Article 32 (Dissolution)

A total of 2/3 of the Members in the General Assembly must vote in support of the dissolution and permission must be obtained from the supervisory authority.

Article 33 (Return of Assets of the Dissolved Corporate Body)

If the corporate body is dissolved, the remaining assets will be returned to the State, local autonomous organizations, or other non-profit corporate bodies with similar goals.

Article 34 (Changing the Articles of Incorporation)

A total of 2/3 of the Board Members, a vote of support from the General Assembly and permission from the supervisory authority must be obtained to revise these Articles of Incorporation.

Article 35 (Announcements)

Legal regulations and other items for announcement will be announced through daily papers.

Article 36 (Publicizing Donations)

The amount collected from donations and revenue use must be made public through the corporate body's homepage by March 31 each year.

Supplemental Rules

These Articles of Incorporation will be implemented on the day they receive approval by the supervisory authority.
These Articles of Incorporation have been revised on March 13, 2003.
These Articles of Incorporation have been revised on February 26, 2005.
These Articles of Incorporation have been revised on July 19, 2011.