South Korea's economy is at a crossroads, according to many local experts, who believe the country will face a serious crisis unless some right choices are made soon.

The Korea Development Institute(KDI) recently surveyed 489 academics, researchers at institutes and corporations and financial analysts and about 88 percent of them agreed the domestic economy is like a frog being boiled alive.

Almost 64 percent of respondents warned that the country only has one to three years to jump out of the boiling water and avert potential economic dangers.

In particular, many emphasized the country lags behind other economies in terms of regulatory reform, attributing its slow progress to the lack of awareness about its importance, lack of government and political will to carry out change, and strong opposition from those enjoying the vested rights in the status quo.