정관

Constitution of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

NAME

1 This Society shall be known as the “The Korean Chamber of Commerce in Singapore”, hereinafter referred to as the “KOCHAM Singapore”.

PLACE OF BUSINESS

2 Its place of business shall be at “71 TANJONG PAGAR ROAD #04-01 Singapore 088492” or such other address as may subsequently be decided upon by the Committee and approved by the Registrar of Societies. The Society shall carry out its

activities only in places and premises which have the prior written approval from the relevant authorities, where necessary.

OBJECTS

3.1 Its objects are:

a To promote Korean companies’ business activities such as trade, finance and investment in Singapore and the

South East Asia region;

b To collect and circulate statistics and other information relating to Members’ business activities;

c To communicate with the Singapore Government and other public bodies and present opinions of the Society

and it’s members;

d To enhance and maintain the image of Korea in order to promote Members’ business interests;

e To promote interrelationships between overseas visitors to Singapore who have interests in the Society and

its members;

f To promote friendship and common interests among the Members, and encourage fellowship and mutual

support among members of the Society; and

g To do all such other things as may be necessary or conducive to the attainment of any or all of the above objects.

MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATION AND RIGHTS

4.1 Membership shall comprise of the following categories:

Regular Membership

Regular Membership is open to the following groups:
i) Corporations (public and private), local corporate entities, branches or offices of financial institutes, business

organizations from Korea

ii) Local corporate entities or private businesses incorporated pursuant to Singaporean law

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership shall be conferred at the discretion of the Committee on representatives of public organisations and the Korean and Singapore Governments who have made significant contributions or have rendered invaluable assistance to the Society. Honorary Members shall have no rights to vote or hold office in the Society.

Associate Membership

Associate Membership is open to the following groups:
i) Foreign companies in Singapore with business interests in Korea
ii) Foreign companies in Singapore with any Korean national and resident

Associate Members shall have no rights to vote and hold office in the Society. However, Associate Members shall be granted Regular Membership if they pay a membership fee equivalent to that of regular members.

Discipline and Termination of Membership

4.2 If any member is alleged to have committed any act detrimental to the interests of the Society or injurious to its reputation, and such allegation having been investigated and proven to be true after giving the Member an opportunity to be heard, he may be penalized or expelled from membership as may be decided at a General Meeting of members.

4.3 Any member shall, upon ceasing to be a member, forfeit all rights, privileges and claims against the Society, but shall continue to be liable to the Society for any outstanding debts.

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

5.1 A person wishing to join the Society should submit his particulars to the Secretary on a prescribed form.

5.2 The Committee will decide on the application for membership.

5.3 A copy of the Constitution shall be furnished to every approved member upon payment of the entrance fee .

ENTRANCE FEES, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND OTHER DUES

6.1 The entrance and special fees and subscriptions shall be determined by the General Meeting on recommendation

from the Committee from time to time.

6.2 Honorary Members shall not pay any entrance fee and annual subscription.

6.3 Regular and Associate Members shall pay dues in the amount decided at the General Meeting. In the cases of

withdrawal or termination, the member shall be obligated to make full membership fee payment for current business year.

If a member fails to settle the arrears within,

i) First year: a notice;
ii) Second year: a warning notice;

iii) Third year: a termination notice,

will be given.

6.4 The Society’s expenses shall be funded with the following:

i) Membership Fees
ii) Others

SUPREME AUTHORITY AND GENERAL MEETINGS

7.1 The supreme authority of the Society is vested in a General Meeting of the members presided over by the Chairman.

7.2 An Annual General Meeting shall be held in April.

7.3 At other times, an Extraordinary General Meeting must be called by the Chairman on the request in writing of not less than 50% of the total voting memebrship, provided always that the number of members requesting for the convening of such Extraordinary General Meeting must exceed the size of the Committee at the time of such request. The notice in writing shall be given to the Secretary setting forth the business that is to be transacted. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened within 1 month from receiving this request to convene the Extraordinary General Meeting.

7.4 If the Committee does not within 1 month after the date of the receipt of the written request proceed to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, the members who requested for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall convene the Extraordinary General Meeting by giving 14 days’ notice to voting members setting forth the business to be transacted and simultaneously posting the agenda on the Society’s notice board.

7.5 At least 2 weeks’ notice shall be given of an Annual General Meeting and at least 14 days’ notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of meeting stating the date, time and place of meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all voting members. The particulars of the agenda shall be posted on the Society’s notice board 4 days in advance of the meeting.

7.6 Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, voting by proxy shall be allowed at all General Meetings.

7.7 The following points will be considered at the Annual General Meeting:

a The previous financial year’s accounts and annual report of the Committee.

b Where applicable, the election of office-bearers and Honorary Auditors for the following term.

7.8 Any member who wishes to place an item on the agenda of a General Meeting may do so provided he gives notice to the Secretary one week before the meeting is due to be held.

7.9 At least 30% of the total voting membership present at a General Meeting shall form a quorum. Proxies shall not be constituted as part of the quorum. Majority consent of the members present is required for any resolution to pass.

7.10 In the event of there being no quorum at the commencement of a General Meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned for half an hour and should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum, but they shall have no power to amend any of the existing Constitution.

7.11 All resolutions at a General Meeting shall be passed by a majority of votes and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

MANAGEMENT AND COMMITTEE

8.1 The administration of the Society shall be entrusted to a Committee consisting of the following to be elected at each Annual General Meeting:

A Chairman

Up to 15 Vice Chairman

A Secretary

A Treasurer

Up to 40 Ordinary Committee Members

8.2 Names for the above offices shall be proposed and seconded at the Annual General Meeting and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members. The term of all office-bearers, except the Treasurer shall be five years and may be re-elected to the same or related post for three consecutive terms of office. The term of Chairman shall be two years and can be renewed.

8.3 To be proposed and seconded as a Chairman, either one of the following requirements must be fulfilled.

i) A member who served the Society as a Vice Chairman or a Member of Management Committee for at least 2 years.
ii) A regular member who has been paying the membership fees for 3 consecutive years.

8.4 Election will be either by show of hands or, subject to the agreement of the majority of the voting members present, by a secret ballot. The Chairman shall have a vote, and the right to cast a deciding vote in the case of tie.

8.5 The Annual General Meeting shall be held in April. Special General Meetings shall be held in the following cases:

i) where the Chairman deems it necessary; or
ii) where such meeting is requested with a written request explaining its purpose and reasons and with the signed consent of more than 50 Regular Members.

A notice detailing purpose, time and venue shall be given to the members at least 10 days prior to such a General Meeting.

8.6 Any member of the Committee absenting himself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanations shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Committee and a successor may be co-opted by the Committee to serve until the next Annual General Meeting. Any changes in the Committee shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.

8.7 The duty of the Committee is to organise and supervise the daily activities of the Society. The Committee may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the General Meetings.

8.8 The Committee has power to authorise the expenditure of a sum not exceeding the approved budget from the Society’s funds for the Society’s purposes.

8.9 The Committee shall have the power to make and vary bye-laws to ensure the smooth operation of the Society and such Bye-laws shall not be inconsistent with these Rules.

8.10 The Committee shall have the power to employ staff to look after the administration work of the Society and may commission companies or body of persons to carry out specific tasks or projects of the Society.

DUTIES OF OFFICE-BEARERS

9.1 The Chairman shall chair all General and Committee meetings. He shall also represent the Society in its dealings with outside persons.

9.2 The Vice Chairman shall assist the Chairman. The Chairman can appoint one or more First Vice Chairman, who shall assume the responsibilities of the Chairman in the case of his/her absence.

In case of more than one First Vice Chairman, the eldest shall assume the responsibilities.

9.3 The Secretary shall keep all records, except financial, of the Society and shall be responsible for their correctness. He will keep minutes of all General and Committee meetings. He shall maintain an up-to-date Register of Members at all times.

9.4 The Treasurer shall keep all funds and collect and disburse all moneys on behalf of the Society and shall keep an account of all monetary transactions and shall be responsible for their correctness. He is authorised to expend up to $1,000/- per month for petty expenses on behalf of the Society. He will not keep more than $1,000/- in the form of cash and money in excess of this will be deposited in a bank to be named by the Committee. Cheques, etc. for withdrawals from the bank will be signed by the Treasurer and either the Chairman or the ice-Chairmen or the Secretary.

9.5 Ordinary Committee Members shall assist in the general administration of the Society and perform duties assigned by the Committee from time to time.

AUDIT AND FINANCIAL YEAR

10.1 The Auditor shall be appointed at a General Meeting upon the recommendation of the Management Committee. The term of Auditor’s office shall be 2 years and can be renewed only once. In the case of the Auditor’s absence, the Chairman shall appoint a new auditor after hearing the recommendations of the Management Committee, whose remaining term shall not be included as a part of reappointment.

10.2 They:

a Will be required to audit each year’s accounts and present a report upon them to the Annual General Meeting.

b May be required by the Chairman to audit the Society’s accounts for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Committee.

10.3 The financial year shall be from 1st April to 31st March.

TRUSTEES

11.1 If the Society at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in trustees subject to a declaration of trust.

11.2 The trustees of the Society shall:

a Not be more than 4 and not less than 2 in number.

b Be elected by a General Meeting of members.

c Not effect any sale or mortgage of property without the prior approval of the General Meeting of members.

11.3 The office of the trustee shall be vacated:

a If the trustee dies or becomes a lunatic or of unsound mind.

b If he is absent from the Republic of Singapore for a period of more than one year.

c If he is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continues as a trustee,

d If he submits notice of resignation from his trusteeship.

11.4 Notice of any proposal to remove a trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint a new trustee to fill a vacancy must be given by posting it on the notice board in the Society’s premises at least two weeks before the General Meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed. The result of such General Meeting shall then be notified to the Registrar of Societies.

11.5 The address of each immovable properties, name of each trustee and any subsequent change must be notified to the Registrar of Societies.

VISITORS AND GUESTS

12.1 Visitors and guests may be admitted into the premises of the Society but they shall not be admitted into the privileges of the Society. All visitors and guests shall abide by the Society’s rules and regulations.

PROHIBITIONS

13.1 Gambling of any kind, whether for stakes or not, is forbidden on the Society’s premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.

13.2 The funds of the Society shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in Court.

13.3 The Society shall not engage in any trade union activity as defined in any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.

13.4 The Society shall not attempt to restrict or interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendation to, any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or any discount, allowance or rebate relating to any goods or service which adversely affect consumer interests.

13.5 The Society shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes.

13.6 The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers, Committee or members unless with the prior approval of the relevant authorities.

13.7 The Society shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purposes without the prior approval in writing of the Head, Licensing Division, Singapore Police Force and other relevant authorities.

AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION

14 No alteration or addition/deletion to this Constitution shall be made except at a general meeting and with the consent of two-thirds of the voting members present at the General Meeting, and they shall not come into force without the prior sanction of the Registrar of Societies.

INTERPRETATION

15 In the event of any question or matter pertaining to day-to-day administration which is not expressly provided for in this Constitution, the Committee shall have power to use their own discretion. The decision of the Committee shall be final unless it is reversed at a General Meeting of members.

DISPUTES

16 In the event of any dispute arising amongst members, they shall attempt to resolve the matter at an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with this Constitution. Should the members fail to resolve the matter, they may bring the matter to a court of law for settlement.

DISSOLUTION

17.1 The Society shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than of the total voting membership of the Society for the time being resident in Singapore expressed, either in person or by proxy, at a General Meeting convened for the purpose.

17.2 In the event of the Society being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be disposed of in such manner as the General Meeting of members may determine or donated to an approved charity or charities in Singapore.

17.3 A Certificate of Dissolution shall be given within seven days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.