Senior officials from the government and the ruling party agreed to put top priority on passing 15 key bills designed to revitalize the economy during the current parliamentary session when they met for policy consultations Tuesday. With the effect of the front-loaded fiscal spending limited, it is all the more necessary to implement measures to boost private sector investment and consumption.

Korea’s economy has shown signs of moving into a recovery phase, with its gross domestic product growing for a third consecutive quarter in the July-September period. Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, recently estimated that the economy would post 2.9 percent growth for the year if this momentum was sustained.

The growth rate is expected to rise further next year, to somewhere between 3.2 percent and 4 percent, according to forecasts by local and international institutions. They note the Korean economy, the fourth-largest in Asia, still faces formidable downside risks, citing uncertainties over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus tapering and concerns over the relatively weak domestic demand caused by indebted household and corporate sectors.

To maintain the growth momentum under these circumstances, parliament is urged to pass bills aimed at reinvigorating the economy without further delay. Under particular focus is a bill designed to promote foreign direct investment here.

Expanding investment may be the most effective way of getting the economy on track toward full recovery, as it results in more employment and consumption. With many local enterprises unable or reluctant to make new sizable investments, it is all the more necessary to attract more foreign investors.

Recent government figures showed that FDI in Korea has been on a downward trend this year. Foreign direct investment newly pledged to the country dropped by 4 percent from a year earlier to $10.75 billion in the first nine months of 2013, due mainly to a sharp fall in manufacturing investment. However, fresh foreign investments actually made here decreased more steeply by 11.3 percent to $6.45 billion in the same period.

A controversial provision in the current investment law, which obliges grandchild companies of a holding firm to retain 100 percent ownership of subsidiaries to be set up by them, has been cited as a major stumbling block to drawing more inbound investment. A bill to revise this law calls for easing the requirement to 50 percent when a great-grandchild company is established in partnership with foreign investors. The measure would immediately bring in about 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in new foreign investments, according to government and industry officials.

Still, the parliamentary passage of the bill is far from guaranteed, as the main opposition Democratic Party remains against it, concerned that large conglomerates might use the eased rule to create more subsidiaries, further expanding their influence over the economy. The opposition party is urged to take a more active and positive stance on this matter. Increasingly tough economic conditions leave little room for putting presumptive harms ahead of substantial benefits. It needs to be noted that a sluggish economy has recently driven President Barack Obama to assume a support role for U.S. business to “make the case for investing in America.”

Revising a regulatory rule is merely a small part of the work to foster a stable and favorable environment for foreign investors and businessmen. Government policymakers and politicians should listen to the criticism that regulations and tax codes change too frequently and abruptly in Korea, and try to ensure the consistency and predictability of relevant policies.