Application for Permission to Establish a Scholarship Foundation — 5 to 15 Directors, 2 Auditors and Documents for the Office of Education

Procedure

1. 1. Define the purpose and contributed property

   Define the program concretely, such as paying scholarships or school expenses or providing money, goods or facilities for students' education (Enforcement Decree of the Public Interest Corporations Act, Article 2(1)1). Permission is granted only if the income from contributed property is recognized as sufficient to carry out the purpose smoothly (Act, Article 4(1)), so plan funding by dividing basic property and ordinary property.

2. 2. Appoint directors and auditors

   Appoint at least 5 and no more than 15 directors and 2 auditors, and a majority of the directors must be Korean nationals (Act, Article 5(1) and (4)). Related persons such as the contributor and relatives may not exceed one-fifth of the current directors (Article 5(5); Enforcement Decree, Article 12), and terms may not exceed 4 years for directors and 2 years for auditors (Article 5(3)).

3. 3. Prepare the articles of association and application documents

   Prepare 1 copy each of the founders' personal details, a statement of purpose, the articles of association, an inventory of property separating basic and ordinary property with a donation application, certificates from the registry office or financial institution for the main property, and a business plan with an income and expenditure budget for 2 business years after commencement (Enforcement Decree, Article 4(1)).

4. 4. Apply to the competent authority

   For corporations under the Ministry of Education, apply to the superintendent of education with jurisdiction over the principal office (Rule on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Profit Corporations under the Ministry of Education, Article 3). The authority reviews whether the purpose is concrete and feasible and achievable with the funds, and attaches the condition that the scope of beneficiaries may not be restricted (Enforcement Decree, Articles 5(1) and 6(2)).

5. 5. Transfer property and report registration after permission

   After permission, transfer the contributed property to the corporation without delay and submit a property transfer report within 3 months (Enforcement Decree, Article 8), and submit a registration report within 7 days after completing the establishment registration (Article 9). Afterwards, permission from the competent authority is required to sell basic property or provide it as collateral (Act, Article 11(3)).

Required documents

• Application for permission to establish a corporation (Rule on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Profit Corporations under the Ministry of Education, Form No. 1)
• Document stating the founders' names, addresses and career histories
• Statement of purpose of establishment
• Articles of association
• Inventory of property (separating basic and ordinary property) and donation application
• Certificates from the registry office or financial institution for the main property
• Business plan and income and expenditure budget for 2 business years after commencement
• List of officers and appointment documents (to confirm the composition of directors and auditors)

Fees

Actual costs for the establishment registration and property transfer are separate. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the type of contributed property, the composition of directors and the length of the business plan; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Interest Corporations, Articles 2, 4, 5, 11, 12 and 18
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Interest Corporations, Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12 and 19
• Regulation on the Delegation and Entrustment of Administrative Authority, Article 22
• Rule on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Profit Corporations under the Ministry of Education, Article 3 and Form No. 1

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-24

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• If the contributed property is not transferred to the corporation within 3 months after permission, the reporting deadline is missed, so set the contributor's transfer schedule before applying.
• Selling basic property or providing it as collateral without permission from the competent authority violates the Public Interest Corporations Act, so obtain permission before any change in property.

Frequently asked questions