President Park Geun-hye called Wednesday for efforts to speed up fiscal reform to reduce state debts.

"What is urgent is the paygo principle," Park said in a meeting on fiscal strategy at the presidential office, referring to pay-as-you-go rules to ensure fiscal soundness.

Paygo is a system widely practiced in the United States and other advanced countries in which any increase in direct spending prompted by a new law or revision must be offset by other spending decreases or revenue increases, meaning that any new law that requires government spending must have its own resources before being enacted.

Park also said she hopes that the National Assembly can quickly pass relevant bills on paygo rules.

"We need to speed up fiscal reform to minimize the public's burden and faithfully support economic revitalization and the public's livelihoods," Park said.

South Korea's operational fiscal balance was in the red by 30.2 trillion won ($27.6 billion) for the January-November period last year, the latest months for which statistics are available, according to the government data.

The balance has been on the negative side since 2008, reaching a peak in 2009, when it surged to 43.2 trillion won.

She also called on officials to maintain the country's fiscal health, noting that government spending on welfare could rise, given the fast-aging population.

The government expects South Korea will become a super-aged society around 2026, when at least 20 percent of the people will be over 65. South Korea became an "aging society" in 2000, when the ratio topped 7 percent.

Experts have expressed concerns that the aging population, coupled with low birth rates, poses a serious threat to the nation's economy as it could lead to fewer working people and increased spending on health and welfare. (Yonhap)