Innovating for an Aging Society: A Multi-level Governance and Public Entrepreneurship Approach to South Korea’s Silver Economy

The Republic of Korea, facing one of the world's most rapid demographic transitions, stands as a critical test case for policy innovation in the silver economy. This study analyzes how the retreat of consistent, national-level support has paradoxically catalyzed diverse forms of local-level public entrepreneurship. This paper aims to elucidate the mechanisms through which subnational governments innovate amidst central government ambiguity, using the dual theoretical lenses of multi-level governance and public entrepreneurship. Through a comparative case study of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Daegu Metropolitan City, and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing State, this paper demonstrates how subnational governments are leveraging multi-level governance structures to fill policy voids, each with distinct strategies and outcomes. The findings reveal that in a traditionally centralized state, the successful development of a silver economy hinges not only on top-down policy frameworks but, more critically, on the empowerment and promotion of bottom-up entrepreneurial action. This research argues that the dual lenses of multi-level governance and public entrepreneurship offer a nuanced understanding of policy innovation in hyper-aging nations, providing crucial lessons for other countries on a similar demographic trajectory.