📌 Summary in 3 lines - If a request for information disclosure comes back as confidential, you can file an objection within 30 days from the date of notification. The agency generally decides within 7 days. - If the reason is "decision-making process," you can re-examine the reason starting from the point where the decision has already been made. - Even if personal information is mixed in, you can request that the parts containing personal information be redacted and the rest be partially disclosed.
Table of Contents 1. What I Got When I Requested a Traffic Light 🚦 2. Don’t Necessarily Believe the Reason for Confidentiality 🔍 3. The Objection Application Should Be Short and Narrow ✍️ 4. The Number on the Third Page of the Meeting Minutes 📄
I am an administrative agent based in Songdo, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Here's an anecdote I wanted to share with my neighbors. 😊
The day I received a notification of a partial disclosure decision, I was circling a number on the third page of the meeting minutes. 'Pedestrian count of 38 people.' It seemed like a very small number for an elementary school crosswalk.
It took 3 weeks to receive that number.
## 1. What I Got When I Requested a Traffic Light 🚦
The client was a woman in her late 20s who runs after-school English classes at an elementary school in Songdo, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. After class, she walks low-grade children to the crosswalk behind the school, but there is no traffic light there. Last winter, a passenger car suddenly stopped right in front of her while accompanying them.
A few residents requested the installation of a traffic light, but the response was a single line. "The traffic safety facility review did not meet the installation criteria."
To find out what was missing, I requested the review meeting minutes and survey data through a request for information disclosure. The result was confidential, with the reason being "related to the decision-making process." After some deliberation, I scheduled a phone consultation and she came, and there were about 3 weeks left until the deadline for filing an objection.
## 2. Don’t Necessarily Believe the Reason for Confidentiality 🔍
Article 9, Paragraph 1, Clause 5 of the 「Public Agency Information Disclosure Act」 allows information that would significantly disrupt operations if disclosed in the process of decision-making or internal review to be kept confidential. This is intended to prevent the issue under consideration from being shaken.
However, this review was already complete, and a "cannot install" reply had already been sent. Whether the same reason could be attached after the decision was made was the first point of contention.
The second was personal information such as the names of the committee members in the meeting minutes. Article 14 of the same law allows for the separation of parts that cannot be disclosed and parts that can be disclosed, so it requires the disclosure of parts that can be disclosed. Therefore, instead of insisting on full disclosure, we decided to request that personal information be redacted and the review judgment and survey data be shown.
## 3. The Objection Application Should Be Short and Narrow ✍️
The initial request form stated, "all related materials." A broad scope makes rejection easier. I narrowed the scope in the objection application.
- Meeting minutes related to the review (excluding committee member names and other personal information)
- Pedestrian and traffic volume survey forms used in the review (including survey date)
The reasons were in three paragraphs: ① The review is complete, so the decision-making process reason does not apply ② Personal information can be separated and redacted ③ The purpose is to check what criteria were lacking. I shortened the appeal that children are in danger into a single line.
I completed the submission before the deadline, and I also mentioned that if it is not accepted, there is a next path called administrative litigation.
## 4. The Number on the Third Page of the Meeting Minutes 📄
About a week later, a partial disclosure decision came. The names of the committee members were redacted, but the judgment content and survey forms were intact.
It was only after looking at the survey form that I understood the reason. The pedestrian count date was mid-August, during summer vacation. It was natural for 38 people to be counted when counting in front of the elementary school during summer vacation. It wasn't so much that the survey was wrong, but that the timing did not capture the usual appearance of this road.
It became clear what to do. Pedestrian volume during the school term needed to be submitted as new data. Those people stood next to the crosswalk morning and evening for three days. They said that parents kept asking them what kind of survey it was while standing there with a counter. 😄 Thanks to that, signatures were also collected.
The first sentence of the re-request form stated that the survey was conducted during summer vacation and included the results of measurement during the school term. It was to immediately let them know that it was not a repetition of the same request but a request with new facts.
Three months later, the crosswalk was put up for review again, and we received a notification that it was designated for installation. Construction is scheduled for next spring. He said he would cross that road with his children even on days when the traffic light turns green.
## 5. Information Disclosure Objection Checklist
① Deadline — The decision on whether to disclose is, in principle, within 10 days of the request (extendable by 10 days), and an objection must be filed within 30 days of receiving a notice of non-disclosure. ② Reasons for Non-Disclosure — If the reason is "decision-making process," confirm whether the decision has already been finalized. ③ Partial Disclosure — If personal information is mixed in, request that only those parts be withheld. ④ Target Specification — Be more specific with document names and periods rather than "all documents." ⑤ Next Step — Report the date and method of investigation of the received documents, and include any new facts in the first paragraph.
Processing methods vary by agency, so verification is required on a case-by-case basis.
This article is reconstructed based on actual consultation cases, and the characters, names, place names, and figures appearing therein are not related to any specific individuals or events.
━━━━━━━━━━ This administrative agency office is located in Songdo (Posco Tower Songdo), Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. We handle administrative litigation, license/permit acquisition/filing, foreign entry and immigration (visas and residence), and regular administrative management. We also prepare and submit objection letters regarding information disclosure requests and decisions of non-disclosure, compiling the scope and reasons.
📍 165, Conventia-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Posco Tower Songdo 2697 📞 010-3374-2687 🌐 www.hwangadmin.com ━━━━━━━━━━
Feel free to leave an inquiry if you are in a similar situation.
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