[Editorial] Access to Previous Gov’t’s Archives

The presidential office says President Lee Myung-bak took over nothing less than an “empty can.” A few documents remained that are critical to personnel screening and the running of state administration. What Lee’s predecessor Roh Moo-hyun left behind was a data stockpile system called e-Jiwon and documents from the presidential secretariat for general affairs. Even e-Jiwon had nothing useful because its data was all gone. A significant portion of computer hardware at the presidential office was damaged as well. This is simply disgusting.

The takeover of the presidential office’s duties and materials is a symbol of the power transition and key to the continuity of the administration. But the previous government left nothing to its successor, especially during the official transition process. Though former and incumbent governments pass the buck by saying the other part denied the takeover, both are not free from responsibility.

Former presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told a Jan. 31 briefing that for the smooth running of the new administration, the outgoing government will reorganize necessary materials and transfer them, including a 180-page takeover report, 77 policy white papers, 777 work manuals, and 57,000 reports. But this turned out to be an empty promise.

Officials of the former administration say they handed over related documents to the presidential archives in Gyeonggi Province under the law on management of presidential archives enacted in April last year. So far, 4,020,000 documents are said to have been sent to the facility, but whether all of them were transferred remains uncertain. If they are found to have been intentionally destroyed or missing certain documents, the people will not condone this gross negligence. If officials of the new government were not enthusiastic about taking over, they should also be held accountable.

Nobody can access the archives because under law, critical documents designated by the transferring party are only accessible by a two-thirds vote by the National Assembly or with approval from the high court having jurisdiction. The preservation of administrative archives is important, but their proper use is important. Good or bad, if some documents are necessary for personnel screening and smooth state administration, the new government should be allowed access to them even if they have been transferred to the presidential archives. This is to enhance the transparency and responsibility of the administration. Revision of related laws is also badly needed.