A global credit rating agency says reducing the gender gap in economic participation will be able to boost South Korea’s potential economic growth.

Moody's Investors Service, in a report released Monday, estimated that South Korea’s potential economic growth rate will rise by one percentage point if the gap between male and female economic participation rates is closed over the next 15 years. 

Similarly, it predicted a zero-point-75 percentage point rise in potential growth for Japan, adding that higher female participation in economic activities could offset the shrinking labor force and widen the tax base. 

Moody’s said a successful policy to draw more economic participation from women would also play a positive role in improving the countries’ sovereign credit rating.