Korea's national archivist to chair East Asian records council meeting in Kunming

The interior ministry said Tuesday that the head of the National Archives of Korea will chair this year's executive board meeting of the East Asian records management council in Kunming, China, where member states will debate how artificial intelligence is reshaping public archives.

Lee Yong-chul will preside over the four-day meeting of the East Asia Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, known as EASTICA, which opens Wednesday under the theme "social value of archival public services." Korea attends in its capacity as chair country.

EASTICA is one of 13 regional branches of the International Council on Archives and draws about 80 institutions from seven members: Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia and North Korea. Last year's general assembly in Busan drew about 180 participants, the most since the body was founded.

The board is due to decide which member country will host the 2027 general assembly and to recommend a candidate for the next chair, who would be appointed at that assembly.

The programme centers on AI and digital technology. Lucy Davis of the British National Archives will speak on what her institution is learning from AI governance in public services, and Xu Weiwan, director of the Shanghai Municipal Archives, will present case work from the city. Ben Chesterman, deputy director of digital records at the Australian National Archives, will outline AI projects under way in Australia, and Barbara Reed of Monash University will set out the main issues that arise when AI is applied to archives.

Korea's presentations span the National Assembly Archives, the Korea Archive Foundation and the national archives itself. Lim Jin-hee and Moon Eun-jin of the National Assembly Archives will describe the first year of an AI-native archive, and Lee Yeon-chang, chairman of the Korea Archive Foundation, will discuss building a sustainable records ecosystem in the AI era and prospects for East Asian cooperation. Jung Kyung-taek, a research officer at the National Archives of Korea, will present the Records and Archives Management System, the platform Korea uses to manage electronic records as it prepares for wider AI adoption.

"This annual EASTICA seminar has been a very meaningful occasion for moving from paper records to electronic records based on a digital system," Lee said. "I hope East Asian records management systems will adapt quickly and apply changes suited to conditions in the field, so that we can all take a step forward together in step with the fast-changing AI era."