National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik has called for a full-fledged push for constitutional and parliamentary reform in the new year.

In his New Year’s address, released Thursday, Woo stressed the importance of opening the door to constitutional reform, calling it a long-delayed task that is nearly four decades overdue.

He said the efforts should begin with any items that can be agreed on in time for the nationwide local elections in June.

Woo said the Assembly will press ahead with reforms aimed at building a parliament that meets public expectations, works effectively and strengthens the separation of powers, including institutional improvements and legislative revisions.

Woo added that the National Assembly Archives will be launched in February to enhance accountability and transparency, and he promised to unveil a conceptual design for the Sejong parliamentary complex in the first half of the year.

He also pledged that the Assembly will play a central role in protecting vulnerable members of society and preventing burdens from being passed on to future generations, while accelerating efforts to institutionalize parliamentary social dialogue as a platform for conflict resolution and policy coordination.