President Park Geun-hye on Friday called for measures to tackle the country’s critically low fertility rate and aging population, which are considered some of the biggest threats to the economy.

South Korea’s birthrate stood at 1.18 children per woman last year ― the lowest among the OECD member countries. Almost 15 percent of the country’s population will be 65 or older by 2018, and 50 percent by 2100 at the current birth rate, according to a state-run research firm.

Park described the next five years as the “golden time,” or the last chance to tackle the population crisis.

“The government as well as every citizen must work together on this,” she said in her first meeting with nine population experts at Cheong Wa Dae.

“We can turn this crisis into an opportunity for growth.”

South Korea first implemented demographic policies to boost its fertility rate in 2006. Yet the nation’s birthrate that year was exactly the same as last year, proving the policies have failed.

The government expects that the nation’s military would be short of 84,000 soldiers by 2030, and the health care cost for the elderly would result in a deficit of 47.7 trillion won ($44 billion) in the national health insurance fund in the same year.

The number of South Korean students is expected to drop to 5.61 million by 2030 from the current 10 million.

Such government predictions deepen concerns over the country’s fiscal stability and productivity. On top of the low birthrate, the country’s elderly poverty rate was close to 50 percent last year, which was 3.5 times higher than the national average.

According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the poverty rate of Koreans aged 65 or older was 48 percent in 2013, while the average rate for all Koreans was 13.7.

President Park Geun-hye asked to introduce measures to reduce the cost of housing and raising children, as well as offer more work-life balance programs for the country’s working mothers and fathers.

The government also plans to launch a campaign against the country’s “expensive wedding culture,” so more couples could get married without worrying about the cost of the ceremony. The government also plans to expand insurance coverage for infertility treatment.

For the welfare of the growing number of senior citizens, the government plans to introduce more recreational and cultural programs.

It also plans to support the local beauty and health industries to cater to the growing number of the elderly, by introducing products that specifically meet their needs ― in its attempt to boost the national economy.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)