The aging crisis is equally alarming. In 2025, approximately 21.2% of the population was aged 65 or older, meaning more than one in five South Koreans is elderly. A shrinking workforce will undermine manufacturing, healthcare, construction and other essential industries, while rising pension and healthcare costs will intensify fiscal pressures and burden younger generations. Declining numbers of military-age citizens will also complicate national defense amid growing security threats.

Depopulation threatens provincial schools, hospitals, businesses and communities, accelerating regional decline and widening inequalities between metropolitan centres and rural areas. High housing costs, employment insecurity, expensive education, delayed marriage and difficulties balancing careers with parenthood further discourage family formation. Meanwhile, loneliness, mental health pressures and suicide remain serious social concerns.

South Korea’s demographic crisis is therefore not merely a question of declining births. It threatens the country’s labor supply, economic productivity, social institutions, fiscal sustainability and military manpower. As these trends are likely to persist for the foreseeable future, they could significantly weaken South Korea’s long-term economic potential and strategic influence.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5916149&forum_id=2#50213743)