A study on the need and countermeasures in a series of charges in the Information Disclosure : comparing the cases of the United States

The objective of this study is to search the measures to properly respond to the greatly increasing demands of complex information disclosure.
information disclosure and records management possesses a close relationship with each other. The reason behind this is because to provide precise archival information when the user wants, one must properly preserve and systematically manage records. Thus, effective information disclosure systems can be guaranteed through systematical management of the records.
At the present times, South Korea puts deployment of records managers at public institutions mandatory through the Records Act. Alongside this, the records managers are responsible for records disclosure. However, in reality, for South Korea’s policies on records management has not been long since it was established, the secure settlement of the policies has not yet taken place, such as the fact that not all public institutions possessing records managers and problems in the records management system. As well as records management laws, the Freedom of Information Act has been recently established, and thus have much problems and issues to be developed, but because most of such is managed by records researchers along with records management, it acts as a pressure of tasks.
Especially, records disclosure goes beyond the simple decision of revelation and private usage of records, and requires professionalism of the institution such as the task knowledge and law-related knowledge in the decision of revelation and private uses. However, most records managers lack professionalism in the task of records disclosure despite achieving such in their regular work as in the records management. For such reasons, records managers are undergoing much difficulties in the task of records disclosure, as well as inflicting negative influences on their original tasks of records management. The problem is that consequently, they are inflicting negative effects on the providing of proper information to the users of the Freedom of Information Act.
As a countermeasure for such issues, this study is proposing the introduction of a series of exclusive charge in records disclosure named the Government Information Specialist, that professionally manages the records disclosure of the United States government. Also, to understand the demand of such, surveys and interviews of records manager who undertakes both records management and records disclosure tasks at a South Korean public institution.
As a result of research, the various problems that currently exist in the present Freedom of Information Act were identified in the viewpoint of the staff in charge. Secondly, the fact that most records managers feel much pressure of task on the records disclosure and at the same time feel the need of the preparing of professionalism in the records disclosure were identified. Lastly, the agreement of such managers in the introduction of a series of charges in records management was confirmed.
For the introduction of a series of charges in the records disclosure of South Korea, the current records management laws that places records disclosure under the jurisdiction of records management must be revised, and further on, the clarification of the subject that manages records disclosure is necessary. The making of the series of charges regarding records disclosure lets the offerer execute and research more efficient records disclosure, and the users to be given access to information which is increased in quality and quantity. Thus the materialization of the series is expected to play a vast role in the future advancement of South Korea’s records disclosure.