The Kyungpook National University Archives & Records Service Center (KNU-ARSC) was established on August 5, 2000. The major responsibilities of the KNU-ARSC include collecting, arranging, describing, managing, preserving, and providing access to the University’s administrative and academic records.

The Kyungpook National University (KNU) was founded in 1945 and comprises 5 divisions, 1 bureau, 1 administrative headquarters, 15 administrative offices, 13 graduate schools, 16 colleges, and 134 affiliated institutions. KNU has approximately 33,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and 1,300 staff members. The mission of KNU is: 1) to foster a learning environment that encourages entrepreneurship, innovation, discovery and creativity; 2) to provide high-quality education that will achieve an international reputation; and 3) to pursue the development of a dynamic and new academia.

The Certified e-Document Authority (CeDA) provides third-party certificate authority services for electronic records. The Korea Institute for Electronic Commerce establishes the eligibility criteria, procedures and policies for becoming a repository of Certificate Authority and reviews the qualifications of candidate sites. The reviewed repository is accredited by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Currently, there are two commercial repositories of Certificate Authorities (Samsung SDS and LG CNS) and one government repository of Certificate Authority (Korea Electric Power Data Network).

CeDA aims to: 1) meet the legal mandate of certified electronic records; 2) certify the authenticity of electronic records and documents on behalf of other agencies; and 3) preserve authentic documents in safe recordkeeping systems. It also performs other related activities according to Article 2-8 of the Framework Act on Electronic Commerce. CeDA can help reduce costs by using certified electronic records and documents and strengthening the competitive advantages of organizations.

This case study focuses on reviewing how trusted third-party certification authorities have been processed in the Korean context and how they have been implemented in electronic records systems in three repositories that are currently in operation.

The main objectives of this case study are: to examine the policies and procedures for ensuring the authenticity of electronic documents in CeDA; and to investigate the functions of the systems and relevant tools that are used to preserve authentic records in storage.