Presidential Archives races to protect records before monsoon season

The Presidential Archives, under the Ministry of Interior and Safety, will hold a forum with former presidents' memorial organizations at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Tuesday, along with a records restoration training session ahead of the rainy season, the archives announced Monday.

Seven organizations will take part in the training, which aims to strengthen cooperation on records management between the archives and the private sector. They are the Yun Po-sun Memorial Foundation, the Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Foundation, the Wonju City History Museum (dedicated to President Choi Kyu-hah), the Kim Young-sam Presidential Records Exhibition Hall, the Kim Dae-jung Library, the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation and Deoksil Hall (dedicated to President Lee Myung-bak).

The training was designed to help staff at former presidents' memorial organizations build practical skills to respond quickly and correctly when emergencies arise, as the frequency of heavy rainfall and unpredictable disasters continues to rise.

Emergency measures taken immediately after a disaster represent the minimum temporary steps needed to protect damaged records and prevent further deterioration or loss. Records soaked by heavy rain are particularly vulnerable: without a swift initial response, serious secondary damage such as mold growth can set in.

The session will simulate conditions found at actual disaster sites — records submerged by flooding or buried in mud from storms and other natural disasters. Participants will receive both theoretical instruction and hands-on practice in emergency response techniques, with a particular focus on historically valuable paintings, calligraphy and clothing items.

Participants will practice handling records correctly to avoid missing the critical window during a disaster, setting rescue priorities and working through the restoration process for damaged materials.

Each participating organization will receive a free emergency restoration kit for immediate use at disaster sites. The kit contains 47 items across 27 categories — including protective gear for workers, cleaning and decontamination tools, drying and packaging supplies, and damage documentation equipment — to enable rapid on-site response.

"As the specialized agency overseeing the management of presidential records, we will keep pushing forward with diverse support initiatives so that privately held records related to former presidents can also be preserved safely," said Han Seong-won, director of the Presidential Archives.