How did the inter-Korean summit transcript disappear?

Lawmakers selected from the ruling and opposition parties tried to have a look at the original copy of the transcript during the 2007 inter-Korean summit according to the resolution by the National Assembly, but in vain. They tried to search it with some 10 keywords such as “The Northern Limited Line,” “NLL,” and “The Inter-Korean Summit” with the help of the staff of the National Archive of Korea on Monday and Wednesday. It is fine if they have not found it yet, but it will be a serious issue if it is not archived at all.

The ruling Saenuri Party claims that the State Archive does not have the transcript, while the main opposition Democratic Party thinks the lawmakers have not found it yet. The Steering Committee of the National Assembly argued over the issue. When Saenuri Party lawmakers said, “Please confirm that you don’t have it,” the National Archive of Korea said, “We confirm that we don’t have it.” Then, Democratic Party lawmakers criticized, saying, “The right answer should be ‘We have not found it yet.`” It is uncertain whether the National Archive did its best or not, but it is too early to come to the conclusion at this stage.

If the transcript does not exist at the Archive, one can think of two possibilities: either the transcript was not transferred to the Archive at all or it was discarded after being transferred. However, the latter is practically impossible since the transcript must have been documented. Even if it is deleted in the system, it can be restored.

Some in the ruling party have claimed since last year there was a rumor that former President Roh Moo-hyun ordered to discard all transcripts of the inter-Korean summit kept by the presidential office at the end of his term. Others claim that he might have sent them to his retirement home, Bongha Village. But President Roh’s people deny the possibility. They claim that all records including the e-approval and management system are transferred to the National Archive. They claim that how they could discard the original while the National Intelligence Service has a copy, and if they did not hand over the original, how Rep. Moon Jae-in could propose the access and disclosure of the original.

As the Democratic Party claims, it is also possible that the original exists in the National Archive and has not been found yet due to problems in search system or classification. Even if it is true, it is still hard to accept that no transcript in an electronic file, on paper, and voice recording was discovered at all.

Presidential archives are valuable historical documents like the archives of dynasty eras. Regardless of who produced them, the state owns them, not to mention the importance of the original copy of the transcript of the inter-Korean summit. It should be found out how the transcript disappeared. Political debates with prejudgment are meaningless until it is found. President Roh’s people and the National Archive of Korea should cooperate to confirm truth.