South Korea’s central bank chief said Wednesday that structural reform should be made to enhance the country’s growth potential.

In a lecture to a group of lawmakers, Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said a series of swift structural reform measures should be taken to address a fall in the country’s growth potential caused by the ultralow birth rate and the fast aging trend.

“It is difficult to deal with structural problems, such as the low birth rate and the aging trend, because of conflicts of interests among various groups,” Rhee said.

“But we don’t have much time for structural reforms,” he stressed.

Rhee said the country’s ultralow birth rate has been caused by overwhelming child-rearing costs, the country’s high educational obsession with tertiary education and greater Seoul’s high population density problem.

Given the fast aging pace and senior citizens’ highest poverty rate among OECD members, social costs will increase sharply down the road, he said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency