Most Popular
-
1
Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
-
2
Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
-
3
Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
-
4
First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
-
5
Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
-
6
Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
-
7
Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
-
8
Industry experts predicts tough choices as NewJeans' ultimatum nears
-
9
Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
-
10
NK troops disguised as 'indigenous' people in Far East for combat against Ukraine: report
고(故) 노무현 전 대통령측은 18일 국가기록원이 2007년 남북정상회담 대화록 원본이 '없다'고 밝힌데 대해 "이제 와 회의록의 행방을 찾을 수 없다는데 대해 회의록 관리 과정에 정치적 목적이 개입됐다는 심각한 의혹을 제기하지 않을 수 없다"고 주장했다.
참여정부 시절 대통령기록물 이관에 실무적으로 참여했던 김경수 전 연설기획비 서관, 임상경 전 기록관리비서관(대통령기록관 초대관장), 이창우 전 제1부속실 행정관은 이날 국회 정론관에서 기자회견을 갖고 "참여정부 청와대에서 분명히 이관된 기록물을 왜 아직 찾아내지 못하는지 이해할 수 없다"며 이같이 밝혔다.
이들은 "대통령기록물관리법에 따라 직전 대통령의 추천으로 임명하는 대통령기록관장의 5년 임기가 보장돼 있음에도 불구, 이명박정부는 임상경 당시 관장과 참여 정부 출신 지정기록물 담당과장을 쫓아낸 뒤 청와대 행정관을 기록관장 후임으로 임명했다"며 "그 이후 기록물이 어떻게 관리됐는지 우리로선 전혀 알 수 없게 된 것"이라고 지적했다.
정치적 목적에 의한 대통령 기록물의 훼손 방지, 수백만건에 달하는 기록물의 분류와 정리, 전직 대통령만이 할 수 있는 지정기록물 해제 작업 등을 위해 관련법령에 대통령기록관장을 직전 대통령이 추천 임명하고 5년의 임기를 보장하도록 법에 명시했으나 이명박 정부는 이를 지키지 않았다는 것이다.
그러면서 이들은 "이명박정부에 의해 일방적으로 관리되어 온 회의록이 2012년 대선을 앞두고 선거에 악용하기 위해 불법적으로 유출된 의혹이 드러났고, 관계자들 이 검찰에 고발 조치된 바 있다"고 강조했다.
이어 "국가기록원은 지금이라도 원본을 확인하기 위해 최선의 노력을 다해야 한 다"며 "끝내 찾지 못한다면 기록물 관리 경위 및 제기된 의혹에 대해 분명히 해명해 야 한다"고 요구했다.
이들은 "2007년 남북정상회담 회의록은 10월 국정원에서 작성한 초안이 보고된 뒤 안보정책실의 최종 보완 작업을 거쳐 12월께 청와대 문서관리시스템인 '이지원(e
-知園)'을 통해 노 전 대통령에게 보고됐다"며 "정상회담 당시 배석했던 조명균 당시 안보정책비서관이 최종본을 작성, 안보실장을 거쳐 보고했다"고 당시 상황을 설명했다.
또 "대통령 보고와 재가를 거친 이지원 문서는 1부속실에서 기록물을 담당했던 이창우 당시 행정관에 의해 지정기록물로 처리됐으며, 기록관리비서관실을 거쳐 대통령 기록관으로 이관됐다"면서 "대통령 보고가 완결된 전자문서는 이지원 시스템상 빠짐없이 모두 대통령기록관으로 이관됐다"고 주장했다.
이들은 "국정원에 회의록 사본을 남긴 참여정부가 대통령기록관에 회의록을 이관하지 않을 하등의 이유가 없다"며 "정상회담 전후 준비 및 이행과 관련된 수많은 기록물들이 빠짐없이 존재하는데 유독 정상회담 회의록만 없다는 게 상식적으로 말이 되는가"라고 반문했다.
Controversial summit transcript goes missing
By Lee Joo-hee
The National Archives of Korea has confirmed that it does not possess the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit talks, igniting intense controversy over the whereabouts of the contentious records sought by the rival parties.
The mysterious misplacement of the original transcript effectively shifted the attention away from whether former President Roh Moo-hyun insinuated a willingness to nullify the de facto West Sea border to which former government is responsible for the transcript if it is permanently lost.
“We confirmed from the National Archives that they do not hold such data (transcript),” Saenuri Rep. Hwang Jin-ha said at the National Assembly’s House Steering Committee on Thursday.
Hwang and nine other lawmakers of the Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party have been searching for the transcript in question since Monday. Hwang added that the members could not find any tape-recording of the talks between Roh and then-North Korea leader Kim Jong-il from the list of documents either.
The DP’s Rep. Woo Yoon-keun agreed they could not locate the records but added that they could not accept why the National Archives wasn’t trying harder to search for the transcript.
The National Archives reportedly explained that it had no knowledge of the actual contents as it had not been able to look into the presidential archives, which are kept confidential.
The Assembly decided to continue searching for the actual transcript until next Monday. The Steering Committee said members from each party can be accompanied by experts in their efforts to search for the document, and that the National Archives should also continue looking.
Meanwhile, other relevant documents to the summit were submitted for review, but the rival parties remain at odds over when and how to analyze them.
Upon the bizarre turn of events, rival lawmakers began to point the finger at each other over the whereabouts of the records. Further dispute is expected, with some broaching the need for a full-out investigation into the missing transcript.
“If it is found that the transcript is missing, the pro-Roh forces must be judged for distorting history and discarding the transcript,” a Saenuri Party lawmaker was quoted as saying by Yonhap News.
The DP, on the other hand, directed blame toward the Lee Myung-bak administration.
“If it is confirmed that there is no transcript, we cannot but suspect the Lee government that has a history of deleting and concealing its wrongdoings such as its surveillance of civilians and the NIS’ political smear campaign,” said DP floor leader Jun Byung-hun.
In response, a member of the Lee administration was quoted as telling Yonhap News that the DP’s claim was “utterly ridiculous and despicable” and that it was simply impossible to revise or discard something in the presidential archive once it’s been stored.
Attention is now centered on how the transcripts were produced, delivered and preserved.
According to sources, the transcript had been kept in two versions after the summit, one of which had been delivered to the National Archives, while the other had been kept by the National Intelligence Service.
Kim Jeong-ho, a former presidential secretary for records, said in a radio interview that upon Roh’s retirement, all the 8.24 million items in the presidential records were handed over and that it was impossible for a specific record to be omitted.
The former members of Roh‘s administration released a statement and demanded the National Archives put its utmost efforts to find the original transcript that they delivered.
“If they fail to find it, the National Archives should explain how they have been managing all the presidential records and clarify all suspicions (including political interference).”
Some raised the possibility of a simple technical problem.
As the transcript in question is in a confidential archive, it could be hidden under a completely different “code name” or under different operation system between the presidential archive and the National Archive.
Upon political wrangling over Roh’s alleged NLL comments, the DP -- spearheaded by Roh’s closest aide Rep. Moon Jae-in -- had strongly demanded to view the original transcript and all preparatory and relevant documents to clear his name.
The Saenuri Party agreed, believing that looking into the presidential archives would be a chance to confirm its claim that Roh made remarks to the effect of rescinding the NLL and that the version kept by the National Archives would be little different from the earlier version released by the NIS.
(jhl@heraldcorp.com)
