Electronic records produced by central administrative agencies with a retention period of 30 years or longer must be converted into long-term preservation formats (PDF) and packaged as long-term preservation archives (NEO) prior to their transfer to t...
Electronic records produced by central administrative agencies with a retention period of 30 years or longer must be converted into long-term preservation formats (PDF) and packaged as long-term preservation archives (NEO) prior to their transfer to the National Archives of Korea (NAK). Under the Public Records Management Act, electronic records are managed through a structured three-tiered system—comprising records offices, records centers, and permanent archival institutions—mirroring the management framework established for non-electronic records.
The electronic records transfer system, which has been in operation for over a decade, is currently undergoing a substantial transformation driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), recent amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Public Records Management Act, and the launch of the Integrated Records Management Service Platform. Within this evolving institutional and technological landscape, this study analyzes the procedures, processes, and outcomes of electronic records transfers to the NAK from the 2014 pilot phase through 2025, focusing specifically on manual inspection practices.
Manual inspection, conducted exclusively by the NAK, serves as a critical verification stage where individual records are visually examined to ensure integrity and identify anomalies. Despite being resource-intensive, this process remains the most reliable method for guaranteeing the authenticity and completeness of transferred archives. As current inspection standards and anomaly classification frameworks have evolved from accumulated manual expertise, a systematic analysis of this data is essential for institutional benchmarking and the optimization of future transfer protocols.
This study is significant as it provides the first comprehensive, macro-level analysis of inspection results across all agencies and years—data previously shared only between transferring and receiving institutions. Such empirical analysis is particularly relevant given recent policy shifts, including the 2022 amendment making format conversion optional and the 2025 revision introducing authority-based transfers.
Methodologically, this study reviews legislative changes to the Enforcement Decree (Articles 32, 35, 36, 40, 44, and 46) and conducts descriptive statistical analysis on a decade of transfer data from the Central Archives Management System (CAMS). Excluding the 2014 pilot and the 2024 system migration period, the data reflects annual averages of approximately 220 agencies and 3.12 million records. The findings indicate that while electronic record production peaked following the 2004 mandatory documentation mandate, anomaly rates have steadily declined. Notably, newer systems like On-nara exhibited significantly lower error rates than legacy systems.
In alignment with technological progress, the NAK has transitioned from passive preservation to a proactive, utilization-oriented management approach. In 2025, data refinement initiatives addressed persistent issues such as password protection and broken links, leading to a reorganized classification structure. Four new categories—"Unreadable," "Incomplete Content," "Attachment Errors," and "Conversion Verification"—are scheduled for implementation in 2026.
Ultimately, these records constitute essential administrative and historical evidence for the Republic of Korea. By recognizing that "records are data and data are records," this study emphasizes the value of managing transferred electronic records as big data assets. The verified datasets derived from manual inspections represent high-quality training data for AI-driven archival automation. As AI integration continues, the systematic benchmarking of inspection results will play a pivotal role in redefining the value and utility of electronic records in the digital era.