The judgment below is reversed and the case is remanded to Seoul High Court.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. The Constitution guarantees all citizens’ freedom of expression as a fundamental right.

In order to freely form and express opinions on the premise of freedom of expression, an individual must have access to the information and be able to know it, so the right to know should be recognized, and the contents of the right to know should include the right to access the information held and managed by the public institution.

The Act on the Disclosure of Information by Public Institutions enacted to guarantee citizens' right to know and secure citizens' participation in state affairs and transparency in the management of state affairs (hereinafter "Information Disclosure Act") declares the principle of disclosure of information that information held and managed by public institutions should be actively disclosed as prescribed by this Act. Article 5(1) of the same Act provides that all citizens shall have the right to request disclosure of information. Article 6 of the same Act provides that public institutions shall enforce this Act, modify related Acts and subordinate statutes, and improve information management systems so that people's rights to request disclosure of information can be respected.

Considering the legislative purpose, regulatory content, etc. of the Information Disclosure Act, the citizen's claim for information disclosure should be widely permitted unless it falls under the information subject to non-disclosure under Article 9 of the Information Disclosure Act.

On the other hand, since all rights are faithfully exercised in accordance with the principle of trust and good faith, the exercise of such rights is prohibited if they are abused against the principle of trust and good faith, and the same applies to requests for information disclosure.

Therefore, in fact, the information disclosure claim is filed for the purpose of obtaining unjust benefits that cannot be accepted by social norms without any intention to acquire or utilize the relevant information, or inducing public officials in charge of public institutions.