## 4 Results and Discussion
### Discussion of the Results  
The results of the economic effects of the NG supply sector in South Korea and Japan are summarized in Table 9. Five major implications can be obtained from the results of this study. First, the production-inducing effects of the NG supply sector in South Korea and Japan were 1.07919 and 1.86142, respectively. The value-added creation effects were estimated to be 0.20246 and 0.51990 in South Korea and Japan, respectively. The production-inducing effects and value-added creation effects in Japan are 1.7 times and 2.6 times greater than those in South Korea, respectively. It means that the contribution of the NG supply sector in Japan to revitalizing the domestic industry is greater than that in South Korea. South Korea and Japan have one thing in common: they import LNG from overseas. However, in South Korea, 80% of total LNG imports are traded through a public company, and only 20% are traded through private direct importers. On the other hand, Japan liberalized its gas retail market in 2017, and most LNG import transactions are conducted through private operators. In addition, as South Korea focuses on stable supply, most of its LNG import transactions are carried out through long-term import contracts. However, in Japan, most of LNG imports are traded through spot and short-term contracts. Long-term contracts have the advantage of securing supply stability but have the disadvantage of making it difficult to dispose of and utilize the surplus. On the other hand, spot and short-term contracts have the disadvantage that it is difficult to secure supply stability but have the advantage of improving value-added because they have fewer inventory problems and can be used for resale. In other words, the difference between the production-inducing effect and value-added creation effect in the NG supply sector of the two countries can be interpreted as the difference in the LNG import method. Therefore, South Korea can consider opening the LNG trading market and diversifying contract types to improve the production-inducing effects and value-added creation effects of the NG supply sector. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c} \hline \hline  & **South Korea** & **Japan** \\ \hline Forward linkage effect & 0.77970 & 0.63836 \\ Backward linkage effect & 0.58638 & 1.06613 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 8: Forward and backward linkage effects of natural gas supply sector in South Korea and Japan. Second, the wage-inducing effects of the NG supply sector were 0.04674 and 0.01908 in South Korea and Japan, respectively, the former being 2.4 times that of the latter. In other words, the NG supply industry in South Korea can be judged to be a high-wage industry compared to that of Japan. On the other hand, the employment-inducing effects in the NG supply sector were 803.4 and 1974.6 in South Korea and Japan, respectively, with the latter being 2.5 times that of the former. In Japan, the electricity and gas market were completely opened, increasing the number of city gas companies from 40 in the past to 430. On the other hand, most of the NG supply in South Korea is still operated by one public company. Therefore, there are more jobs related to the NG supply industry in Japan than those in South Korea. Third, the supply shortage effects in the NG supply sector in South Korea and Japan were 1.62724 and 0.97915, respectively, the former being 1.7 times larger than the latter. In other words, it means that the damage caused by NG supply disruptions is greater in South Korea than that in Japan. In the IO tables for South Korea and Japan, the proportions of intermediate demand in total output of the NG supply sector were 71% and 63%, respectively. In other words, the share of NG supply in South Korea as an intermediate product for the entire industry is greater than that in Japan. Therefore, the analysis results of the supply shortage effect are in line with the input form of the NG supply industry in both countries.