Cheong Secretariat Notified 'Confidential Subject' for Missing Data... "Must Pay Litigation Costs"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Blue House Presidential Secretariat refused a citizen's request for information disclosure on the grounds that the requested documents were "non-disclosable," even though such documents did not exist, and was later ordered to bear the related litigation costs.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jonghwa Ahn) dismissed the lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a former Customs Service employee, against the Blue House Presidential Secretariat Chief for refusal to disclose information. However, the court ordered the defendant, the Presidential Secretariat, to bear the litigation costs. A dismissal is a ruling made without substantive judgment due to lack of procedural requirements. Usually, when a lawsuit is dismissed, the plaintiff bears the litigation costs. The court stated, "Mr. A filed the lawsuit believing the information existed," and added, "Although the legal interest to seek cancellation of the refusal is not recognized, it is appropriate for the defendant to bear the litigation costs according to the Administrative Litigation Act and Civil Procedure Act."

In May 2018, Mr. A reported to the Board of Audit and Inspection the issue of national treasury losses caused by the improper operation of the Customs Service's pre-classification system for tariff items, and also delivered related documents to an acquaintance in the Civil Affairs Office under the Blue House Presidential Secretariat. Later, in January of last year, Mr. A filed a request for information disclosure to find out whether the Blue House was conducting any investigation or audit regarding the matter. However, the Presidential Secretariat refused, stating that the requested information fell under non-disclosable information under the Information Disclosure Act. Mr. A filed an objection, but the Presidential Secretariat dismissed it in February of the same year. At that time, the Presidential Secretariat Chief was Director Youngmin Noh.

In the lawsuit, the Presidential Secretariat argued, "After reviewing the related content, the Civil Affairs Office found no particular issues and did not initiate a separate audit," and "The information requested by Mr. A is not held by the Presidential Secretariat Chief." The court accepted this argument and dismissed Mr. A's claim. However, the court added, "The defendant issued the refusal on the grounds that the information was non-disclosable, even though the information does not exist," and explained, "From Mr. A's perspective, the litigation costs can be seen as 'costs incurred from acts necessary to increase or protect rights.'"