South Korea has experienced a rapid increase in the emergence of social enterprises that aim to address various social problems. However, little is known about the conditions that can affect the emergence of social enterprises at the regional level. This study examined the regional factors that influence the establishment of social enterprises using a panel dataset of observations on 17 metropolitan cities and provinces in South Korea from 2012 to 2019. The appearance of social enterprises in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems was found to be associated with the market, government, networks, financial resources, and human capital. We also found that the determinants of their emergence within South Korea’s social enterprise ecosystem vary based on their level of development and purpose. Based on the results, we suggested several policy implications and suggestions.

Various studies have proposed social enterprise as a potential policy intervention and a policy alternative to deal with the complex problem of wellbeing enhancement. However, the relationship between social enterprise and wellbeing has not been fully expounded, particularly its impact on the local community. This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between social enterprise and the wellbeing of individuals in the local community, utilizing a multilevel framework. It further explores whether social capital, measured as trust, network, and participation, plays a moderating role in the relationship between local social enterprise and the wellbeing of individuals in the community. The results indicate that social enterprise has a positive effect on the wellbeing of individuals in the community, and that social capital, particularly network and participation rather than trust, plays a moderating role in the relationship between local social enterprise and individual wellbeing. The results help explain how social enterprise improves the wellbeing of community residents as a whole, suggesting practical implications for policymakers and practitioners from governments and social enterprises.

Previous studies have shown that social enterprises can improve the health conditions of socially disadvantaged people through qualitative approaches. As income-related health inequality has grown, the role of social enterprises in addressing this issue has become more significant. This study examined whether social enterprises could positively affect the self-rated health of South Korean low-income residents using multilevel models. The results showed that government-certified social enterprises were associated with positive self-rated health among low-income residents. On the other hand, preliminary social enterprises with insufficient profitability and weak corporate governance showed mixed results. Based on the empirical results, this study suggests relevant policy implications.

The landscape of global foreign aid is changing with the growing number of new donors, especially in Asia. While Japan is no longer overwhelmingly dominant, complexity grows as China is becoming increasingly influential as an emerging donor, and Korea is rising to be a considerable donor by joining the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. In this context, there have been numerous controversies concerning East Asian donors, and even debates about the East Asian model of aid apart from the more traditional Western models. However, only a handful of studies have examined donor behavior empirically. This study aims to assess the motives in the foreign aid allocations of China, Japan, and Korea as a group and as individual donors by methodically and empirically examining aid patterns and the East Asian model of aid. This research shows that the most important drivers of aid allocations of East Asian donor are economic, as opposed to political-strategic or humanitarian, which is viewed as typical for China, Japan, and Korea. Furthermore, this characteristic of valuing economic factors can be seen more clearly in Asia and other regions compared to in Africa. However, on an individual country level, economic motives are the primary determinants of aid allocations only for China. Japan prioritizes humanitarian factors over economic ones, and Korea does not reveal a clear pattern either way.

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