Company Welfare Fund Establishment Approval: Procedure and Documents

Procedure

1. 1. Form the preparatory committee

   The employer forms the fund corporation preparatory committee and entrusts it with the establishment work and the selection of the first directors and auditors. The committee is formed like the welfare fund council, with an equal number of members representing employees and the employer, between 2 and 10 each. Employee members are elected by employees, and employer members are the business representative and persons appointed by that representative (Act Article 52, paragraphs 2 and 3, and Article 55).

2. 2. Draft the articles and decide the contribution

   The committee drafts the fund corporation's articles as provided by Presidential Decree. If required items are missing from the articles or the content violates Articles 50, 51 or 62 of the Act, approval is not granted (Article 52, paragraph 6). The employer may contribute an amount decided by the welfare fund council based on 5% of the previous fiscal year's net profit before corporate or income tax, and may also contribute assets such as cash and securities (Article 61).

3. 3. Submit the approval application and attachments

   Submit the establishment approval application (Enforcement Rule, Form No. 7) to the Minister of Employment and Labor with the articles, a certificate of employment or other identity proof for committee members, a contribution confirmation or property list, and a business plan and budget (Enforcement Decree Article 30, paragraph 1). Missing or false documents are grounds for refusal.

4. 4. Review and receipt of the approval certificate

   The application is processed within 20 days of receipt, and upon approval it is entered in the establishment approval ledger and an establishment approval certificate is issued (Enforcement Decree Article 30, paragraphs 2 and 3). Approval must be granted unless a refusal ground set by law applies, such as missing items in the articles, so if a supplement request arrives, correct the documents within the deadline.

5. 5. Register within 3 weeks and hand over the work

   The committee must register the establishment at the main office location within 3 weeks of receiving the approval certificate, and the corporation comes into being upon registration. After registration it hands the work over to the fund corporation's directors without delay, and the committee is treated as the first welfare fund council when the corporation is formed (Act Article 52, paragraphs 7, 9 and 10).

Required documents

• Fund corporation establishment approval application (Employee Welfare Benefits Act Enforcement Rule, Form No. 7)
• Articles of incorporation
• Certificate of employment or other identity proof of preparatory committee members
• Contribution confirmation or property list for the company welfare fund
• Business plan and budget

Fees

Certificate issuance fees are actual costs. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the articles drafting and document volume; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 50
• Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 52
• Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 55
• Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 61
• Enforcement Decree of the Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 30
• Enforcement Rule of the Employee Welfare Benefits Act, Article 20

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-19

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 registration is not completed within 3 weeks of receiving the approval certificate, the corporation is not formed, so set the registration schedule together with the approval.
• Missing items in the articles or provisions that violate the Act are grounds for refusal, so check the articles once more before filing.

Frequently asked questions