[Exclusive] Impact of 'Civil Servant Shooting'? Government Pushes to Expand Presidential Records Disclosure

Presidential Records Locked for Up to 30 Years... Shortening Reclassification Cycles and Lowering Disclosure Conditions to Adopt an 'Active Disclosure' Principle

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is pushing to shorten the review cycle for the public disclosure of presidential records and to expand the scope of disclosure. Although presidential records have been restricted from public access for up to 30 years, they are periodically reclassified for disclosure. However, there are few cases where records are switched to public access, leading to criticism that there are limitations in the public's access to information. Given the criticism that presidential records could not be properly reviewed during the investigation of the West Sea government official shooting incident, related discussions are expected to accelerate.

According to the Presidential Office and government ministries on the 5th, the Presidential Archives recently began work to revise detailed criteria for information classified as non-disclosable presidential records. Ahead of legal amendments, they plan to review laws for expanding disclosure and to subdivide the reclassification cycle. A Presidential Office official explained, "During discussions on the West Sea government official shooting incident, there were continuous opinions that a comprehensive review of presidential record management was necessary, and President Yoon’s policy is that transparent information matching the public’s expectations should be disclosed, so even the criteria for determining non-disclosable information will be reconsidered."

Under current law, presidential records classified as non-disclosable are, in principle, not disclosed for 30 years. For presidential-designated records, privacy-related records have a protection period of 30 years, while others can have a protection period of up to 15 years during which access or submission of materials is not allowed. However, there is a process to reclassify disclosure status within one year after five years have passed since the transfer of the records, and then every two years thereafter.

But there are many conditions. Information recognized as "likely to infringe on privacy or freedom" or "likely to seriously harm the nation’s vital interests" is exempt from reclassification review. This effectively means such records remain sealed for up to 30 years. For example, materials from the Moon Jae-in administration’s National Security Office related to the West Sea shooting incident cannot be disclosed for at least five years.

The fact that the bereaved families themselves have filed "lawsuits to cancel refusals of information disclosure," or that the changed administration has withdrawn appeals against such lawsuits, and that the president has made statements such as "If the public has doubts, we will review it" regarding the necessity of information disclosure, has further increased confusion. In a situation where practical information disclosure is impossible, conflicts between the "old and new administrations" have started again.

In response, the Presidential Office and the Archives have decided to start by establishing a fundamental principle of "active disclosure" and revising the criteria for non-disclosable information. This includes reviewing the establishment or amendment of provisions related to presidential records disclosure laws. For example, efforts will begin to remove or specify ambiguous criteria such as "risk of causing political turmoil," "invasion of privacy," or "harm to the nation’s vital interests."

The "periodic reclassification for disclosure" process will also become more detailed. It is known that plans include shortening the first reclassification review period to 2-3 years after transfer and significantly expanding the scope of non-disclosable information subject to review. A senior government official explained, "Considering criticisms that the effectiveness of reclassification for disclosure is low, differentiated criteria for non-disclosure will be established, unlike before."

Recently, the amendment to the "Presidential Records Management Act" proposed by People Power Party lawmaker Hong Seok-jun is in line with this. The main point is to prohibit classifying presidential records as non-disclosable or setting protection periods when a court has decided on information disclosure or when a court trial regarding an information disclosure request is ongoing.

The new management plan for presidential records is expected to be detailed and disclosed as early as the end of the year. During the discussion process, opinions from external experts will also be referenced and used as grounds for future legal amendments. A Presidential Office official said, "The basic direction of the Yoon administration’s governance is to proactively disclose information that is of high public interest in advance," adding, "We will build a government-wide information disclosure system to enhance public accessibility and build public trust."