Abstract This study identifies key industries within Korea's regional economies and evaluates their economic impacts from both demand-side and supply-side perspectives. Employing a network-based approach, the study uses PageRank centrality analysis to identify key industries by analyzing their economic connectivity within regional industrial networks. To measure the economic impacts of these identified key industries, the Partial Hypothetical Extraction Method is applied, assessing their contributions to production output and employment. The analysis covers Korea’s regional economies using Multi-Regional Input–Output tables for the years 2005, 2010, and 2015, providing an evaluation of regional economic structures and trends over time. Results indicate regional disparities: demand-side centrality focuses the prominent role of manufacturing industries and major cities, such as Seoul and Gyeonggi, whereas supply-side centrality emphasizes internal economic stability and industrial linkages within regions. The study insists on the need for differentiated regional policy approaches that consider both external connectivity and internal stability, offering insights for policymakers seeking balanced regional economic development.
Lee et al. (2025) studied this question.