President Park Geun-hye renewed her calls Wednesday for the parliamentary passage of a set of bills meant to revitalize South Korea's economy.

"The urgent thing is to pass" the bills, Park said in a meeting with the heads of small and medium-sized companies in an industrial zone near Seoul.

She also asked two ruling party lawmakers, whose districts are home to the industrial zone, to appeal to their fellow lawmakers to pass the bills.

Last month, Park joined a signature-collecting campaign calling for parliamentary approval of the bills.

Park has made similar appeals in recent months, though no major progress has been made amid a protracted political standoff between the rival parties.

The current state of the South Korean economy appears bleak as the country reported a plunge in its exports -- the country's main growth engine -- mainly because of faltering demand amid low oil prices and a slowdown in China.

Overseas shipments dropped 18.5 percent on-year to US$36.7 billion in January, the sharpest drop since the 20.9 percent plunge reported for August 2009. (Yonhap)