The Hankyoreh Article: “Records Experts: ‘A Records Management Division Must Be Established in the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission’”.
Above — our AI image representing privacy concerns regarding TRC 2 and TRC 3 management of sensitive adoption records submitted by Adoptees.
View the original Korean article here:
The Hankyoreh Article: “Records Experts: ‘A Records Management Division Must Be Established in the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission’”
Translation via ChatGPT.
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.
BOLDS ours.
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*Paperslip Note:
Korean Adoptees — particularly U.S. Adoptees — who are considering submitting their cases to TRC 3 (whether INDEPENDENTLY or through a group) should consider whether TRC 3 can properly manage their sensitive, private adoption documents. TRC 3 has a particular interest in U.S. side immigration and adoption documents, and U.S. Korean Adoptees should be aware that TRC 3 has a serious records management issue which needs to be addressed.
U.S. Adoptees: Please consider whether or not NOW is the greatest time to share your documents with the Korean Government!
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Records experts: “A Records Management Division must be established in the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission”
Reporter: Ko Kyung-tae
Entered: Feb. 20, 2026, 2:10 PM
Revised: Feb. 20, 2026, 11:32 PM
“Records management professionals are calling for the reinstatement of a Records Management Division in the third term of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is set to launch on (February) 26th (2026). The division existed during the first term but was abolished in the second. They argue that as the Commission’s investigative scope has expanded, the importance of systematic records management has grown accordingly.
According to reporting by Hankyoreh on the 20th, the Korean Association of Records Managers and Archivists (President: Park Jong-yeon) released a statement the previous day criticizing the preparatory body for the third-term Commission. The association stated that the organizing body is structuring the Commission without fully recognizing the core importance of records management, as was also the case in the second term. It insisted that a Records Management Division must be established in the third term to prevent a repeat of past negligence and poor management.
The Korean Association of Records Managers and Archivists was founded in 2010 by professional records managers responsible for public-sector archives administration and has around 450 members.
When the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission was launched in December 2005, it operated a “Records and Information Division” under the Bureau of Administrative Management in accordance with its organizational regulations. It also established a “Records and Information Center” under its records and materials management rules to systematically manage documentation of Commission activities and investigative materials. At the time, the division reportedly had about five staff members.
However, when the second Commission launched in December 2020, the records management function was effectively excluded from its organizational structure, with only one seconded civil servant (a records researcher) assigned to the role.
The association pointed out that although investigators have said the lone records researcher worked devotedly and did their best, the scale of work was too large for one person to handle properly, making it difficult to avoid a judgment of inadequate management. Because there was insufficient professional records management capacity to handle investigation records submitted and collected by investigators, the Commission was unable to adequately guard against the risk of record loss.
As an example, the association cited an incident in September 2025 in which investigation record data were completely destroyed in a fire at the National Information Resources Service. The Commission had been using the government’s G-Drive work storage space—intended for general administrative use—simply as a storage facility.
The association also emphasized that in the third term, the Commission’s investigative scope has expanded to include human rights violations occurring in social welfare institutions, adoption agencies, and group residential facilities, further heightening the importance of records management.
Shim Sung-bo, a research fellow at the Institute for History and Responsibility and a former Director of the Presidential Archives under the Moon Jae-in administration, told Hankyoreh on the 20th: “While the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission neglected records management, other truth-seeking and disaster investigation committees have actively utilized records management in their investigations, and its effectiveness has been proven.”’
Reporter: Ko Kyung-tae (k21@hani.co.kr)
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Paperslip Note — The fire referenced in the article is discussed here:
The Hankyoreh Article: G-Drive Data Lost in National Information Resources Management Institute Fire… All Central Government Work Files Gone.