The ruling Saenuri Party’s political reform committee said Wednesday it was considering introducing recall elections for members of the National Assembly.

“To establish politics that is led by the people, (the party) plans to seriously consider introducing the recall system,” said committee chief Park Jae-chang. 

At present, chiefs of provincial governments and members of provincial and municipal councils deemed unfit for office can be recalled by their electorates, but there are no laws allowing voters to recall members of the National Assembly.

“It is necessary to establish safety mechanisms against political gridlock for a situation where the parliament is not fulfilling its functions due to extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties,” said Park.

Although the system was discussed within the election camp of Rep. Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party during last year’s presidential election, the measure was not included in his pledges over worries that its overuse could bring about confusion.

Park also said that the ruling party was reviewing plans to make it mandatory for the parliament to review proposed regulations that have wide public support and enable the public to petition for laws.

Park also proposed establishing a special committee for non-governmental organizations to improve communication between the parliament and NGOs, and a committee for assessing the activities of lawmakers as part of political reform.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)