The Ministry of the Interior and Safety noted on the 4th that it has begun the transfer of the 20th presidential records in accordance with the Presidential Records Management Act.
On that day, the Constitutional Court decided to impeach former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
According to the Presidential Records Management Act, the agency responsible for producing presidential records is required to initiate the record transfer process immediately upon the president's vacancy and complete it before the next president's term begins.
Typically, it is tight on time to start the necessary work for transfer one year prior to the end of the presidential term. The date for the early presidential election is currently expected to be in early June. This is in accordance with the constitutional provision that states a new president must be elected within 60 days if the president is impeached.
On that day, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety established a transfer promotion team with the Director General of the presidential records office as its head. This team will initiate practical discussions for the transfer with the agencies producing presidential records. The transfer promotion team consists of five divisions and 42 members, including the transfer oversight team, record service team, classified document transfer team, archive team, and administrative support team.
The agencies designated for the transfer of presidential records are the presidential advisory bodies, acting authorities, security agencies, and advisory organizations specified in the Presidential Records Management Act.
On that day, the presidential records office sent a formal request for cooperation regarding the transfer of related records to each agency responsible for producing presidential records immediately following the citation of President Yoon's impeachment.
The presidential records office stated, "In accordance with the relevant laws, we request cooperation to ensure that the records can be transferred safely and promptly before the next president's term begins, and to prevent any illegal activities like unauthorized damage, concealment, destruction, or removal of presidential records during the preparation process for the transfer."
Additionally, the presidential records office conveyed, "To ensure the safe and prompt transfer of presidential records, we are discussing detailed plans for support from each record-producing agency in terms of personnel and materials."
In the future, records related to President Yoon will be transferred to the presidential records office after being organized and classified. After reviewing the transfer list and records, the records will be stored in the archive, completing the transfer process.