■ Foreword

1. These codes of conduct set forth the values and principles that KCOC’s member organizations and their employees shall share and observe, in addition to criteria for organizational operation, project implementation, relevant accounting and release of information. These codes of conduct are designed to secure interested parties’trust in, and support for, KCOC-initiated projects and contribute to the removal of poverty from the global village and its sustainable development through enhancement of transparency, sense of responsibility and efficiency in its overall operations.

2. The signatories to these codes of conduct shall carry out projects along with the people of beneficiary countries based on a genuine and equal partnership and satisfy the following requirements:

2-1. Priority shall be placed on the good and the needs of the people of beneficiary countries.

2-2. Efforts shall be made to encourage the people of beneficiary countries to build the spirit of self-reliance and self-help.

2-3. Cooperation shall be made with NGOs of beneficiary countries based on an equal partnership and mutual respect.

2-4. Efforts shall be made to understand the history and culture of beneficiary countries.

2-5. The people of beneficiary countries shall be encouraged to have a sense of responsibility by having them take part in the planning, implementation and appraisal processes for relevant projects and programs.

2-6. Local resources and organizations shall be fully utilized in planning projects in beneficiary countries. Efforts shall be made for maximization of results of projects by carrying them out in cooperation with relevant organizations.

2-7. Social, economic, civic and political human rights of the people of beneficiary countries shall be fully respected.

2-8. Efforts shall be made for promotion of gender equality among the people of beneficiary countries.

2-9. In carrying out child-aid projects, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) shall be complied with and local children shall be encouraged to build the spirit of self-reliance and self-help.

3. The signatories to these codes of conduct shall also comply with laws of relevant countries, including those of beneficiary countries, and international laws.

4. These codes of conduct may have separate detailed enforcement regulations.


■ Criteria for organizational operation

5. Reasonableness of rules

5-1. KCOC’s rules and regulations (including the Articles of Incorporation, Employment Rules, Council Regulations, and regulations pertaining to volunteers, member organizations and donors) shall be clearly stipulated in accordance with laws of relevant countries and the principle of democracy.

5-2. Council Regulations shall stipulate matters pertaining to the basic purpose of KCOC, qualifications of member organizations, installation of bodies with decision-making and implementation rights, their rights and responsibilities, and operation of the organization, including the frequency of meetings and the quorum for meetings.

6. Decision-making
6-1. The structure, procedure and criteria of decision-making shall be clearly stipulated.

6-2. Decisions shall be made in a transparent and democratic manner and on a clear-cut basis.

6-3. In the event that members of the Board of Directors, paid employees or volunteers are in a conflict of interest or alliance with an interested party, they shall inform the Board of Directors of that fact and shall not take part in a discussion, voting or decision-making related to such a conflict of interest or alliance.

7. KCOC’s organization and role

7-1. KCOC shall have a decision-making body (i.e. General Assembly and Board of Directors) and an auditing body (or an auditor) and an implementation body.

7-2. Overall composition of KCOC and the role and rights of in-house bodies shall be clearly stipulated.

8. Compliance

8-1. In carrying out projects and operating organizations, all laws and regulations of Korea, beneficiary countries and relevant organizations shall be complied with.

8-2. Generally recognized traditions, ethics and cultures of Korea and beneficiary countries shall be respected.

8-3. No unnecessary libels or slanders shall be made of outside organizations.

8-4. All relevant codes of conduct or ethics codes shall be complied with.

9. Operation of organizations

Each KCOC member organization shall do its best:

9-1. To have a reasonable wage, welfare and personnel system for employees.

9-2. To carry out human resource development in a way designed to enhance the quality and ability of employees and volunteers.

9-3. To cope with the need for the safety and health of employees and volunteers, and the possibility of crises or accidents involving them.

9-4. To operate organizations in an open way designed to encourage positive participation of many people.

9-5. To cooperate with other NGOs positively in an effort to reinforce KCOC’s capability.


■ Criteria for project implementation

10. Principles of project performance

10-1. The roles and rights of employees shall be stipulated clearly.

10-2. The procedure of ordinary decision-making or project performance shall be stipulated clearly.

10-3. Updated information on project performance shall be shared among member organizations periodically and frequently.

11. Basic plan and procedure

11-1. A mid- and long-term plan on the purpose, objectives and methods of project implementation shall be set up in accordance with relevant strategies and codes of conduct. Such a plan shall be periodically checked.

11-2. A separate annual plan shall be set up for each project based on the mid- and long-term plan.

12. Planning, implementation, monitoring and appraisal of projects

12-1. Prior to implementation of a proposed project, a project plan shall be made based on an advance survey, and a decision shall be made whether to go ahead with, or make an amendment to, or stop, the project through a proper appraisal.

12-2. In carrying out a project, positive cooperation shall be made wit interested parties, and available resources shall be utilized efficiently and transparently.

12-3. A project plan shall be amended or stopped if necessary after periodic monitoring (i.e. quarterly or semiannually for a one-year or less project, or annually for a multi-year project) (in addition to ordinary checks) of the status of project implementation/accomplishment and resource management.

12-4. In the case of a multi-year project, an intermediate appraisal shall be carried out of the status of project implementation/accomplishment and resource management.

12-5. Upon project completion, an appraisal shall be made of the level of accomplishment of objective/expected results, ripple effect, efficiency, sustainability, parties’ contribution and lessons learned. Decisions shall also be made on the future direction of the project, i.e. whether to stop, withdraw from, extend, expand or reduce the scale of, the project, based on the result of such an appraisal.

13. Emergency relief aid

13-1. Aid shall be provided on a non-discriminatory basis.

13-2. Aid shall be provided purely based on humanitarianism. Politics or religion shall not be a factor in consideration of provision of aid.

13-3. In provision of emergency relief aid, proper allocation shall be made on a timely and equal basis in cooperation with other humanitarian organizations operating in the same area. 13-4. Principles and commitments of authoritative international organizations shall be complied with.

■ Criteria for releasing information

14. Sharing and management of information

14-1. Smooth communication shall be maintained within the KCOC organization by means of periodic meetings so that information may be shared and properly utilized among relevant parties.

14-2. A system shall be set up for collection, accumulation, sharing, storage and management (i.e. taking backup or anti-virus measures) of information.

14-3. Positive exchanges shall be made with outside organizations to obtain the materials required to get a grasp of the local situation in beneficiary countries.

14-4. Proper precautions shall be taken in order to prevent any intrusion of privacy in sharing of someone’s information with outside organizations.

15. Principles on releasing information

15-1. In releasing information, relevant facts shall not be hidden, distorted or exaggerated.

15-2. Proper precautions shall be taken in order to prevent any intrusion of privacy of an official of the organization, a supporter or a local resident by using information without his/her prior consent or for an unauthorized purpose.

16. Type of information that may be released

The following information may be released:

16-1. Purpose, or methods of operation, of the organization, or its system of making project or accounting reports or operation system

16-2. Location and contact points of the organization or names of directors, their rights, the Article of Incorporation, relevant rules, history and matters related to donation

16-3. Other necessary information

17. Method of releasing information

17-1. Relevant information shall be contained in an annual report, or a newsletter or a monthly/quarterly bulletin.

17-2. Basic information, such as the purpose of the organization, or matters related to accounting or directors, shall be released via the KCOC homepage.

■ Accounting criteria

18. Accounting principles

18-1. KCOC’s member organizations shall fulfill their responsibilities toward supporters through transparent, reasonable and efficient management of all financial matters.

18-2. Efforts shall be made for diversification of donation sources so as not to rely on a limited number of donors.

18-3. Efforts shall be made to enhance the ratio of self-built funds (such as membership fees, donation, business income or interest income) so that projects may be carried out in as stable and independent a manner as possible.

19. Accounting books

19-1. Accounting books shall be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting rules.

19-2. A clear-cut principle shall be fixed as to descriptions or methods of entering down payments or others or applying exchange rates.

20. Financial statements and evidential documents

20-1. Financial statements shall be drawn up accurately and clearly about the financial status based on accounting books.

20-2. Concerning fixed assets acquired through purchase or donation, a list of those assets shall be drawn up, stating their type, model, date/amount of acquisition and current status, with necessary revisions made at the time of accounting settlement.

20-3. All evidential documents shall be systematically kept so that relevant retrieval may be made easily, based on accounting slips or books.

21. Settingup budget and accounting settlement

21-1. A relevant budget shall be set up concerning necessary expenses under a project plan, and expenses shall be managed within the budget.

21-2. The decision-making/approval procedure concerning setting up a budget and necessary revisions shall be made clearly.

21-3. Accounting settlement shall be once a year. Annual accounting settlement shall be approved by the Board of Directors and the General Meeting of Shareholders via the Auditor within two months following the end of a fiscal year. The accounting settlement procedure shall be stipulated in the Articles of Incorporation.

22. Profit project

22-1. For profit projects, accounting, including accounting settlement, shall be carried out in accordance with methods stipulated by relevant laws.

22-2. For profit projects, relevant reports shall be made to the local tax office.

23. Transparency in fund-raising and donations

23-1. Requests made to member organizations for funds shall be made honestly, explaining KCOC’s identity, the purpose of the project and the needs of the beneficiary countries. No excessive pressure shall be applied to supporters. Utmost care shall be taken to prevent omission of relevant data, exaggeration of relevant facts or misunderstanding. No press release shall be made that may leave a wrong impression or cause misunderstanding. KCOC shall not be engaged in dishonest advertisements or in any act of unnecessarily pointing fingers at other organizations.

23-2. Member organizations shall spend donated funds as stipulated by donors and notify donors how their donated funds have been spent, on at least one occasion a year.

23-3. Expenses for operation of member organizations and fund-raising shall be kept at a minimum level.

23-4. A clear-cut rule shall be set up for handling in-kind donations.

23-5. KCOC shall cooperate with outside organizations to secure resources and avoid overlapped assignment of resources.

24. General accounting

24-1. Accountants

a. Accountants shall be those with a proper knowledge of, and experience in, the practice.

b. The manager-level officer at an implementation body shall periodically check the financial/accounting status.

24-2. Approval a. When making payment or remittance, the relevant employee shall obtain the approval of the manager-level officer before asking a relevant accountant for an action.

b. In carrying out the procedure stated in the foregoing "a," the relevant amount shall be fixed in advance.

24-3. Checking account balance

a. The balance in the accounting book shall be checked periodically against the cash amount on hand and the balance in the bank account. The cash amount on hand and the balance in the bank account shall be checked on a daily and monthly basis, respectively.

b. At the time of accounting settlement, request shall be made to the bank for issuance of the balance certificate.

25. Auditor and reporting

25-1 At least one of the Auditors shall be one with a proper accounting knowledge and qualification (i.e. a CPA, a tax accountant or one with a proper corporate accounting experience).

25-2. Auditors’ advice shall be sought as often as possible and at the time of accounting settlement to ensure thataccounting shall be carried out properly. At the time of accounting settlement, financial statements and their relevant evidential documents shall be checked by auditors, who shall put their seal or signature on the relevant audit report.

25-3. Concerning a local corporation office, the officer in charge of accounting or the Auditor at the headquarters shall pay a visit regularly or when needed to the office and check to ensure that accounting is carried out properly.

25-4. In the event of a business jointly carried out with a local organization, proper accounting shall be carried out in mutual consultation, with relevant accounting data checked periodically in a mutually agreed way.