Insurance Company Owners 2nd and 3rd Generation... Accelerating Preparations for Management Succession

Kyobo Life Son Joins Subsidiary
DB Insurance Second Generation Management Begins in Earnest

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The succession systems of major domestic insurance companies are now in full swing. The second and third generations of owners are actively moving to take over management rights, either by stepping into frontline management or receiving management training in the field.

According to the insurance industry on the 19th, Shin Jung-hyun (36), the second son of Shin Chang-jae, chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance, recently joined Kyobo Lifeplanet Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Kyobo Life Insurance. Shin graduated from Columbia University in the U.S. and completed an MBA at London Business School. He has been working in strategy and business planning at an internet-specialized financial subsidiary under Japan's SBI (Strategic Business Innovator) Group.

He started working from last week and is currently employed as a manager at the staff level in the Digital Innovation Team of Kyobo Lifeplanet.

Kyobo Lifeplanet is Korea's first online specialized life insurance company established by Kyobo Life Insurance in 2013. As of the end of last year, its asset size was 311.3 billion KRW, and it recorded operating sales of 154.7 billion KRW. Based on his experience in internet finance, Shin is expected to be responsible for tasks related to establishing digital innovation strategies.

Shin's elder brother, Shin Jung-ha (39), also joined KCA Claims Service, a subsidiary of Kyobo Life Insurance, as an assistant manager in 2015. He was promoted to manager in 2018 and is gaining practical experience. A Kyobo Life Insurance official said, "He joined based on the experience he has accumulated and is performing the relevant tasks," adding, "It is not yet at the stage to be called management training."

The fastest to open the 'second-generation management' chapter in the insurance industry is DB Insurance.

Kim Nam-ho (46), eldest son of former DB Group chairman Kim Jun-ki and former vice president of DB Financial Research Institute, was appointed group chairman last month and is pushing forward with generational change. Chairman Kim majored in business administration at Westminster College in the U.S. and worked for three years from 2002 at AT Kearney, a foreign management consulting firm. In 2007, he earned an MBA from the University of Washington Graduate School and completed a finance course at UC Berkeley.

He joined the group in January 2009, gaining practical experience at affiliates such as Dongbu Steel and Dongbu Farm Hannong. In 2015, he moved to DB Financial Research Institute and led the insurance and finance innovation task force (TF). Since his inauguration, Chairman Kim has been actively managing on-site by visiting DB Financial Investment, DB HiTek Sangwoo Plant, and DB Inc. Data Center.

Dongwon Kim, Executive Director at Hanwha Life Insurance

Kim Dong-won, Executive Director and Chief Digital Strategy Officer (CDSO) of Hanwha Life Insurance (36), is also signaling second-generation management through digital innovation.

Kim, the second son of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-yeon, joined Hanwha L&C in 2014 and worked in the group's management planning office digital team before moving to Hanwha Life Insurance in 2016. He has built experience in fintech and digital new business fields, serving as digital team leader and deputy head of enterprise innovation.

Hanwha Life Insurance strengthened its response capabilities to changes in the digital financial environment by converting about 60% of its headquarters' business divisions into digital and new business areas through an organizational restructuring in June.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.