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Park’s Transition Team: A Sanctuary for Closed Information? List of Information and Names of Public Officials All Kept Secret

opengirok 2013. 2. 12. 11:56

   

  The “No Communication” move of the Park’s transition team doesn’t seem to get improved. Park is still insisting her “do-it-myself” style and the sealed briefing of Yoon chang-jung, the spokesperson of the transition team, is still content-less. We can easily notice this by seeing the public criticism against their continuous failure of the personnel appointment and the “no communication” style.

 

The Center for Freedom of Information (CFOI) wanted to check what kind of tasks the transition team is doing. In order to check this indirectly, we have requested information disclosure to 46 central government agencies regarding the list of public documents they received from the transition team. We requested this to central government agencies since the object of the information disclosure not only covers the documents produced inside the institution but also the ones being preserved and administered in the institution after receiving from outside.

 

<Information Request>

We request information disclosure regarding the list of documents received from the transition team for the 18th president between Jan 6, 2013 and Jan 16, 2013. Please include the received date, document number, title, disclosure/nondisclosure (reasons), document type(paper, electronic file), To, From, drafter etc.

 

Having seen the result, however, levels of the disclosure was widely different. While some disclosed all what it was requested, others even kept the list of documents secret. One of the answers we received stated that the name of the person responsible for the task is classified as personal information and therefore it cannot be disclosed. There were also some cases that postponed disclosing information.

 

 

Institution

Answer

Reason (applicable sub-paragraph in 

Article 9 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act

The Board of Audit and Inspection

Disclosed

Korean Government Personal Information Protection Commission

Nonexistent

X

Korean National Police Agency

Disclosed

Ministry of Employment and Labor

Disclosed

Fair Trade Commission

Disclosed

Korea Customs Service

Disclosed

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

Partly Disclosed

6

National Science & Technology Commission

Partly Disclosed

6

Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

Disclosed

Prime Minister’s Office

Disclosed

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of Korea

Disclosed

Ministry of National Defense

Postponed

The briefing on the request is under process

National Tax Service

Disclosed

Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs

Undisclosed

5

Financial Services Commission

Disclosed

Korea Meteorological Administration

Disclosed

Ministry of Strategy and Finance

Disclosed

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Undisclosed

5

Rural Development Administration

Undisclosed

5

the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office

Transfer

Ministry of Justice

Cultural Heritage Administration

Immediately Disclosed

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 

Disclosed

The National Unification Advisory Council

Immediately Disclosed

X

Korea Communications Commission

Postponed

Need to hear the opinion of the public institution which produced the information

Defense Acquisition Program Administration

Disclosed

Ministry of Justice

Disclosed

Ministry of Government Legislation

Disclosed

Military Manpower Administration

Disclosed

Ministry of Health & Welfare

Partly Disclosed

6

Korea Forest Service

Disclosed

National Emergency Management Agency

Disclosed

Korea Food & Drug Administration

Undisclosed

5

Ministry of Gender Equality & Family

Disclosed

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Postponed

More time needed

Nuclear Safety and Security Commission

Partly Disclosed

Article 5 (1)

Public Records & Archives Management Law  20 (1)

Public Procurement Service

Disclosed

Small and Medium Business Administration

Disclosed

Ministry of Knowledge Economy

Postponed

An inquiry commission to be held

Statistics Korea

Disclosed

Ministry of Unification

Disclosed

Office of Minister for Special Affairs

Partly Disclosed

Korean Intellectual Property Office

Undisclosed

2, 5

Korea Coast Guard

Disclosed

Ministry of Public Administration and Security

Disclosed

Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency

Disclosed

Ministry of Environment

Disclosed

 

  The Ministry of National Defense, Korea Communications Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy postponed deciding whether to disclose or not. The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office passed the request to the Ministry of Justice saying that it is not their task.

 

  It was following five institutions: Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Rural Development Administration, Korea Food & Drug Administration, Korean Intellectual Property Office that refused to provide the list of documents. Originally, the list of documents is one of the information that requesting for information disclosure is not necessary since it is supposed to be published on the website. Even this type of basic information was undisclosed. They are not even complying with the minimum guideline of the information disclosure.

 

  Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, National Science & Technology Commission, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and Office of Minister for Special Affairs made secret the names of senders who sent the document from the transition team.  (The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission undisclosed the data saying that “On-Nara’s Electronic files of the list does not include names of senders”)

Some institutions deliberately excluded the names and claimed it as a “full disclosure”.





  Of course, the names of individuals are the objects of the nondisclosure. However, this is only applicable when they are pure individuals. The act on information disclosure clearly states that the name of the public official responsible for the task should be disclosed. It is possible to say that they are disregarding the information disclosure act.

 

  Even the central government agencies are covering it up for the transition team and its relevant information. It seems that the transition team became a sanctuary for the closed information.

 

  The transition teams lack of communication is spreading to the central government agencies as well. The upcoming 5 years look bleak as this might be the picture of the Parks government.