Presidential records claim great historical significance by
containing major national policy processes and high utilization value as important information resources in such research fields as politics, economy and modern history. Viewed in the aspect ...
Presidential records claim great historical significance by
containing major national policy processes and high utilization value as important information resources in such research fields as politics, economy and modern history. Viewed in the aspect of archives management, they have a public nature as public records and administrative records containing records produced by agencies and
individuals and, at the same time, also a private nature as the president's personal records, which means they require professional management. They need differentiated management from general public records, taking various forms as public and personal records.
This study set out to examine the arrangement state and
classification of presidential records according to their types and propose a content-based classification system in order to facilitate their efficient management and utilization, which is the ultimate goal of records management. Since the basic records information contains classification according to periods and forms, the study analyzed the classification system in the aspect of content that has potential for diverse organizations.
In an effort to propose a classification system for presidential records, the investigator reviewed the broad scopes and definitions of presidential records, the subject of the study, in the concerned laws, ordinances, and literature and examined the general principles and theories of records categorization and arrangement. Also analyzed in the study was the case of the United States, which is an advanced nation in the field of records management, has a number of presidential libraries, and was a model to South Korea when it enacted law and set up agencies for presidential records management, to examine the arrangement state of presidential records according to type. The study also analyzed the management and state of presidential records among national agencies in charge of management of presidential records and private organizations planning to establish an individual presidential library in order to analyze the types of presidential records. It was thus found that a The Presidential Archives needed its own classified records system in the first stage of presidential records management.
In an attempt to propose a classification system as a foundation for records utilization, the study then analyzed the types of presidential records with a focus on the records lists of The Presidential Archives based on the categorization system of government functions, which serves as a base for the production of presidential records, and the categorization system based on the
organization currently used by The Presidential Archives.
Presidential records become part of administrative records, and many of them are used by the president for public affairs performance and final policy decision making, given the uniqueness of the president.
The classification system was developed around the duties to assist and provide consultation to the president. A records classification system was suggested to contain the president's personal records to categorize personal records in the forms of collection and donation popular among private organization and special topics according to important historical or policy events.
The organization and duties of the previous presidential
secretariats were analyzed to build a foundation for the classification system. Presidential advisory agencies, personal records, and special topics were added to produce a total of 16 in the first round and 100 in the second round for the classification system. The suggested classification system was horizontal with a focus on the unique service nature of presidential records unlike the old organization-centered vertical classification system in order to increase the convenience of records utilization. The classification system was based on the analysis results of content of presidential records, which used to be sorted out only according to the source-based organizational categories. The study is significant in that it attempted to promote the effective management and utilization of presidential records collected through a range of ways. It is required for concerned agencies to analyze records on an ongoing basis for more sophisticated classification.