This study conducted an analysis of patents filed in five major countries (China, USA, Japan, Europe, and Korea) between 2013 and 2022 in the relevant field, focusing on the country of priority application and the area of technology. While China has shown quantitative growth in patent applications over the past three years, the US remains predominant in areas of technology with a potentially high market value or significant influence. However, it is crucial to assess intellectual property rights and competitive advantages when entering the Chinese market, where technological influence is rapidly increasing. The chemical industry accounts for a significant portion of circular economy technology patents, and the technologies subject to considerable Chinese dominance exhibited rapid growth rates. Our analysis of the forward citation network reveals that in the US-China-Japan technology market group, the players are mutually influencing and closely connected. While Korea does not have such mutually and closely connected countries in its citation network, it has demonstrated weaker influence in terms of technological content and potential market share compared to the number of patent applications. Strategic efforts are required for Korea to enhance its influence in the field of circular economy industries by focusing on key technology areas in which it holds competitive advantages.

[Key Words] Circular economy, patent, forward citation network, technology impact, market value of technology