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During the past ten years, much attention has focused on the contribution of co-operatives in satisfying the socially relevant needs of communities. The number of co-operatives has voluntarily increased to attract and network local stakeholders as key players in various regions in South Korea. This paper aims to explain how and to what extent stakeholder involvement in these co-operatives has been successful or limited to meeting new socio-economic needs by focusing on two case studies – namely, Wonju and Ansung cities, which are considered to be relatively successful cases. The paper provides a brief overview of South Korea's development of the social economy; the two case studies reveal how stakeholder involvement contributes to social innovation in Korean co-operatives. It is obvious that co-operatives are already embedded in Wonju and Ansung and stakeholder involvement contributes to meeting new social needs in both cities. Existing co-operatives and activists have played a considerable role in bridging public, private, and non-profit organizations as well as in facilitating the social innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]