Articles of Incorporation and Regulations

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Article 1 (Name)

This association shall be called The Korean Association For Play Therapy.

Article 2 (Purpose)

The purpose of this association shall be to conduct academic research on play therapy, to improve the quality of members, and to promote friendship.

Article 3 (Location)

In principle, the office of this meeting shall be located in the institution in which the president is in office.

Chapter 2 Business

Article 4 (Business)

In order to achieve the purpose of Article 2, the following businesses shall be conducted.

1. Academic research on play therapy
2. Clinical study of play therapy
3. Publication of academic journals and publications
4. Hold academic conferences and play therapy workshops
5. Play psychology counselor training and qualification management
6. Other businesses necessary to achieve the purpose of this association

Chapter 3 Membership

Article 5 (Types of Members)

Members of this Association shall be divided into regular members, associate members, special members, and institutional members.

Article 6 (Qualification of Membership)

1. Regular member
   • A person who has majored in play therapy-related studies at a graduate school and obtained a master's degree
   • A person who is in charge of lectures in the field of play therapy at a university
   • A person who has obtained a qualification of level 2 or higher as a play psychology counselor
   • A person who has certain qualifications as an associate member and has been approved by the board of directors
2. Associate member
   • A person who is currently attending or graduating from a play therapy-related department at a university
   • A person who is enrolled in graduate school related departments
   • A person who has graduated from college and are engaged in play therapy
3. Special members and institutional members shall be those who agree with the purpose of this association and contribute to its development.
4. Members shall be obliged to pay certain dues.

Article 7 (Disqualification of Members and Recovery of Qualifications)

1. Those who fall under any of the following subparagraphs shall be disqualified from membership.
   • Those who have not paid the membership fee for 3 years as of the fiscal year.
   • A person who violates the criteria for membership after signing up for membership.
   • A person who damages the dignity of membership or has a reason for disqualification.
   • If a member causes the following professional, ethical, and legal problems, the member may lose his/her membership through deliberation.
   • * In case of violation of law *
   • In the case of intentionally forging matters related to qualifications and personal information
   • When the counseling relationship is unilaterally terminated or requested to another counselor without the client's consent or justifiable reasons
   • Having a sexual or inappropriate double relationship with a clien
   • Conducting personal transactions with clients related to their job duties
   • Critical leak of client’s confidential information
2. If membership is lost, all activities related to qualification requirements and all activities as a member will not be recognized.
3. If the membership is lost, all previously acquired qualifications as a play psychology counselor shall also be lost.
4. If a person who has lost membership due to non-payment of dues wants to recover his/her qualifications, he/she must pay the membership dues for 3 years during the arrears period.
5. The disqualification and recovery of a member shall be carried out with the approval of the board of directors after deliberation by the qualification management committee.

Chapter 4 Organization and Executives

Article 8 (Organization and Executives)

The association shall have the following organizations and executives.

1. Organization : As the organizations of this association, there shall be a steering committee, a specialized committee, a board of directors, and a branch.
   • Steering Committee: The steering committee shall be composed of the following executives, and the following members shall be called “steering committee members.”
     • Advisor
     • President
     • President-elect
     • Chairperson of General Affairs and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Education and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of External Cooperation and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Case Study and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Ethics and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Qualification Management and Vice Chairperson
     • Editor-in-Chief and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Academia and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of International Exchange and Vice Chairperson
     • Chairperson of Rights, Interests, and Welfare and Vice Chairperson
   • Specialized Committee: The specialized committee shall collectively referred to as the following committees.
     • Education Committee
     • External Cooperation Committee
     • Case Study Committee
     • Ethics Committee
     • Qualification Management Committee
     • Editorial Committee
     • Academic Committee
     • International Exchange Committee
     • Rights, Interests, and Welfare Committee
   • Board of Directors: The board of directors shall be composed of directors appointed by the association.
   • Branch: Branches may be established in each city/province except for Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
2. Types of Executives: The association shall have the following executives.
   • A number of advisors
   • 1 president
   • 1 president-elect
   • 1 chairperson of general affairs
   • Each committee may have one or more vice-chairpersons.
   • 2 auditors
   • Around 50 directors (The board of directors shall be composed of the steering committee and directors. The steering committee members are ex officio directors.)
   • 1 branch president for each branch

Article 9 (Method of Appointment of Executives)

1. Advisors shall be appointed by the steering committee.
2. The president, president-elect, and auditor shall be approved by the board of directors and report to the members at the general meeting.
3. The chairperson of general affairs and vice chairperson shall be appointed by the president and become ex officio directors.
4. Each specialized committee chairperson shall be appointed by the president and approved by the board of directors. Each specialized committee chairperson elects the corresponding vice chairperson and the corresponding member.
5. Directors shall be recommended by the president and approved by the steering committee and the board of directors.
6. The branch president shall be approved by the steering committee and the board of directors as a holder of a play psychological counseling (education) expert qualification.

Article 10 (Role of Executives)

1. Advisors shall advise on important agendas and resolutions of the association.
2. The president shall represent the association and oversee the affairs of the association, and serves as the chairperson of the general meeting, the board of directors, and the steering committee.
3. The president-elect shall assist the president and act on his/her behalf in the absence of the president.
4. The directors shall handle the matters delegated by the general meeting or deliberate and decide on the following matters.
   • Business plan and budget
   • Business report and settlement of accounts
   • Enactment and closing of rules and regulations
   • Fundraising and management of the association
   • Enrollment, withdrawal and disciplinary action
   • Other operation plans of the steering committee
5. The auditor shall audit the business and accounting of the association at least once a year and report the results to the board of directors and general meeting.
6. The chairperson of general affairs and vice chairperson shall oversee the affairs of this association and manage branch management tasks.
7. The assistant administrator shall assist the chairperson of general affairs and vice chairperson.
8. The chairperson of each specialized committee shall oversee the business of the relevant committee, and the vice-chairpersons and members of each specialized committee shall assist the chairperson. The duties of each specialized committee shall be as follows.
   • Education Committee : Supervision of all education and training tasks for qualification acquisition
   • External Cooperation Committee : Supervision of public relations and external cooperation activities for the development of the association and the rights and interests of members
   • Case Study Committee : Supervision of case studies and presentations
   • Ethics Committee : Supervision of enactment and enforcement of regulations on reward and punishment and ethics
   • Qualification Management Committee : Supervision of member qualification management, play psychology consultant qualification management, qualification test and qualification examination
   • Editorial Committee : Supervision of all affairs related to academic journals
   • Academic Committee : Supervision of academic presentations and seminars
   • International Exchange Committee : Supervision of international affairs of the association
   • Rights, Interests and Welfare Committee : Supervision of affairs related to the rights, interests, and welfare of academic members
9. The branches shall be operated according to the purpose of the association, and detailed operating regulations shall be separately determined by the steering committee and approved by the board of directors.
   The branches shall belong to the general affairs committee, and its purpose, composition, and management shall be as follows.
   • Purpose : Activities to promote academic and case studies and presentations, promote friendships, and help members grow professionally동
   • Composition : Must be a member of this association, including 10 or more regular members of this association
   • Management : Each branch shall be managed by the general affairs committee, and the general affairs committee can request the branch-related specialized committee to suspend branch activities or to cancel the establishment of a branch when the branch shows insufficient performance.
10. Branch-related specialized committees refer to places in charge of affairs that meet the purpose of the branch, such as case study committee, academic committee, education committee, and qualification committee. It may support the activities of the branch or suspend or cancel the establishment of the branch after a hearing.

Article 11 (Term of Office of Executives)

1. The term of office of all executives shall be two years and can be reappointed, and the current president can be reappointed up to two times.
2. When an executive is elected, the president-elect shall also be elected. In the event of the absence of the president, the president-elect shall succeed the president.

Chapter 5 Meetings

The general meeting, the board of directors, the steering committee, each specialized committee meeting, and the TF team meeting may be convened as the meetings of this association.

Article 12 (General Meeting)

The general meeting shall consist of a regular general meeting and an extraordinary general meeting.

1. The regular general meeting shall be held in December every year, and it shall deliberate and decide on the business plan and budget report of the association, election of executives, and other important matters.
2. Extraordinary general meetings can be convened and held by the president when the president deems it necessary or when there is a request of more than half of the regular members.
3. The general meeting shall be opened with members present and decisions shall be made with the consent of a majority of those present. In case of a tie, the president shall have discretion over resolutions.

Article 13 (Board of Directors)

1. The board of directors shall consist of the president, vice president, and directors.
2. The board of directors shall be convened by the president when the president deems it necessary or when there is a request of 1/3 or more of the total number of directors.
3. The meeting shall be opened with the attendance of a majority of the directors, and resolutions shall be made with the consent of a majority of the directors present.

Article 14 (Steering Committee)

1. The steering committee is a meeting of all executives that deliberates and decides on important matters of the association. The president shall become the chairperson, and the executives specified in Article 8 shall participate as steering committee members.
2. The steering committee shall decide on matters related to the general meeting, tasks delegated by the board of directors, consultation and approval on business plans and budget execution of each specialized committee, and website management.
3. The steering committee (all executives meeting) shall be attended by the former president, each specialized chairperson and vice chairperson, and if a specialized chairperson is absent, the vice chairperson must attend. (If both the chairperson and vice chairperson of each specialized committee are present, the chairperson has the voting right.)
4. The steering committee shall be convened by the chairperson when the chairperson deems it necessary or when there is a request for convocation by more than 1/3 of the steering committee members.
5. The meeting shall be opened with the attendance of a majority of the executive committee members, and resolutions shall be made with the consent of a majority of the attending committee members.

Article 15 (Meeting by Specialized Committee)

ach specialized committee may convene and conduct its own meeting to proceed relevant detailed businesses. A meeting of each specialized committee shall be convened when the relevant chairperson deems it necessary.

Article 16 (TF Team Meeting)

When it is necessary to temporarily perform a specific task, the president can form a TF team.

Article 17 (Rules for Each Specialized Committee)

he rules or regulations for each committee that are necessary to smoothly carry out the work of each specialized committee shall be separately determined.

Chapter 6 Finance and Accounting

Article 18 (Finance)

The expenses of this association shall be covered by the following income.

1. Member's dues
2. An annual board fee of 100,000 KRW shall be paid separately.
3. Contributions (Income deduction receipts can be issued to members who have made contributions under 『donations』.)
4. Other income
5. Membership shall be determined by the board of directors.
6. Income deduction receipts can be issued to members who have paid lifetime membership fees and contributions.
7. Proceeds shall not be distributed to members, but used for reinvesting in the target business or for business expansion and stabilization.

Article 19 (Fiscal Year)

The fiscal year of this association shall be from December 1st to November 30th of the following year.

Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions

Article 20 (Dissolution)

The dissolution of this association shall be subject to the decision of the general meeting.

Article 21 (Revision of the Bylaws)

Amendments to the bylaws shall be made at the general meeting after the resolution of the board of directors.

Article 22 (Enforcement Regulations)

Matters not stipulated in the bylaws of this association or for which no separate regulations have been prepared shall be decided by the president through the resolution of the board of directors.

Additional Rules

1. These bylaws shall come into effect from the date of passage at the general meeting of the promotion (June 14, 1997).


2. Members of the Play Therapy Research Association shall be automatically transferred as the association members. Members of the Play Therapy Research Association who paid the membership dues in 1997 shall not repay the membership dues for the current year.


3. Prior to the passage of this articles of incorporation, the preparatory committee shall act on behalf of the board of directors.


4. The term of office of the first executives shall be until the date of the regular general meeting in 1998.

1. These bylaws shall come into effect on June 14, 1997.
2. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on November 4, 2000.
3. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on Oct. 5, 2000.
4. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on April 3, 2005.
5. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on Dec. 3, 2005.
6. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on Dec. 3, 2006
7. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on November 7, 2009
8. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on April 4, 2013.
9. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on March 3, 2018.
10. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on March 9, 2019.
11. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on May 11, 2019.
12. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on March 20, 2020.
13. These amended bylaws shall come into effect on July 21, 2020.