President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that South Korea's sovereign credit rating may be downgraded if structural reforms falter.

Park described global rating agency Moody's recent upgrade of South Korea's sovereign credit rating as "a message of warning" that it could be downgraded if Seoul fails to make structural reforms.

"We will lose the trust of the international community" if South Korea fails to deliver innovation and reform, Park said in a Cabinet meeting.

Three days ago Moody's upgraded South Korea's credit rating to Aa2 from Aa3, the highest-ever rating Asia's fourth-largest economy has received from an international credit rating agency.

The Aa2 rating is the third-highest rating given by Moody's, with only six other countries out of the Group of 20 advanced and developing countries currently with that rating, according to an official from the finance ministry.

The agency said the key drivers of the upgrade are Moody's expectations that Korea's credit metrics will remain strong and resilient compared to rating peers and that Korea's very high institutional strength will support continued implementation of structural reforms. (Yonhap)