Operative Challenges in Releasing Administrative Information and Records

행정정보 및 보존기록물 공개의 운영과제

The release of administrative information has been the challenge of our age following the maturation of democratic ideology in our society. However, differences of opinion and conflict still exist between the government and private sectors regarding the issue, and it seems that the technical and policy-related insufficiencies of information and record management that actually operate the release of information are the main causes. From the perspective of records management, records or information are variable in their nature, value, and influence during their life span. The most controversial issue is the records and information in the current stage of carrying out business activities. This is because the records and information pertaining to finished business are but evidence to ascertain the past, and have only a limited relationship to the ideal of the 'democratic participation' by citizens in activities of the public sector. The current information release policies are helpless against the 'absence of information,' or incomplete records, but such weakness can be supplemented by enforcing record management policies that make obligatory the recording of all details of business activities. In addition, it is understood that the installation of 'document offices("Jaryogwan")' that can manage each organization's information and records will be an important starting point to integrate the release, management, and preservation of information and records. Nevertheless, it seems that the concept of 'release' in information release policies refers not to free use by all citizens but is limited to the 'provision' of records according to public requests, and the concept of 'confidential' refers not to treating documents with total secrecy but varies according to the particulars of each situation, making the actual practice of information release difficult. To solve such problems, it is absolutely necessary to collect the opinions of various constituents associated with the recorded information in question, and to effectively mediate the collective opinions and the information release requests coming from applicants, to carry out the business more practically. Especially crucial is the management of the process by which the nature and influence of recorded information changes, so that information which has to be confidential at first may become available for inquiry and use over time through appropriate procedures. Such processes are also part of the duties that record management, which is in charge of the entire life span of documents, must perform. All created records will be captured within a record management system, and the record creation data thus collected will be used as a guide for inquiry and usage. With 'document offices(Jaryogwan)' and 'archives' controlling the entire life span of records, the release of information will become simpler and more widespread. It is undesirable to try to control only through information release policies those records the nature of which has changed because, unlike the ones still in the early stages of their life span and can directly influence business activities, their work has finished, and they have become historical records or evidences pointing to the truth of past events. Even in the past, when there existed no formal policy regarding the release of administrative information, the access and use of archival records were permitted. A more active and expanded approach must be taken regarding the 'usage' of archival records. If the key factor regarding 'release' lies in the provision of information, the key factor regarding 'usage' lies in the quality and level of the service provided. The full-scale usage of archival records must be preceded by the release of such records, and accordingly, a thorough analysis of the nature, content, and value of the records and their changes must be implemented to guarantee the release of information before their use is requested. That must become a central task of document offices and "Today's information" will soon become "yesterday's records," and the "reality" of today will become "history" of the past. The policies of information release and record management share information records as their common objective. As they have a mutual relationship that is supplementary and leads toward perfection, the two policies must both be differentiated and integrated with each another. It is hoped that the policies and business activities of record management will soon become normalized and reformed for effective and fair release of information.