Civil, Public, and Political Competition... Life Insurance Association President Appointment 'In the Dark'

Kim Cheol-ju Emerges as Chairman of Financial Creditors Adjustment Committee
Industry Supports Sung Dae-gyu, Former President of Shinhan Life
Two Shinhan Alumni Leading Association Pose Challenges

The selection of the head of the Life Insurance Association has been postponed once again. No conclusion was reached even after two rounds of the President Candidate Recommendation Committee meetings. It appears that disagreements over the candidates mentioned by the authorities, political circles, and the industry have not been easily resolved.

According to the industry on the 21st, the Life Insurance Association's candidate recommendation committee held its second meeting the day before and attempted to select the final candidate but failed to reach a conclusion. An industry insider said, "No particular agreement was reached, and it ended with only the opinions of each committee member being presented." The committee plans to further verify the candidates and hold another meeting on the 24th to decide the final candidate.

Various figures from both the public and private sectors were mentioned, but coordination was reportedly not achieved as a new candidate emerged. Initially, the industry strongly favored Sung Dae-gyu, former CEO of Shinhan Life. He was evaluated as a suitable candidate with balanced experience in both the private sector and government. Sung, a 33rd-grade civil service exam passer, served in the Ministry of Finance and Economy’s Insurance System Division and as head of the Financial Services Commission’s Insurance Department. Since 2016, he also served as president of the Korea Insurance Development Institute. In 2019, he moved to the industry, becoming CEO of Shinhan Life, leading the merger with Orange Life, and serving as the inaugural CEO of Shinhan Life. He was considered an ideal candidate for smooth communication with the authorities, understanding the system as a government official and grasping the industry's atmosphere from the private sector.

However, the calculation became complicated as Kim Cheol-ju, chairman of the Financial Creditors Adjustment Committee, rapidly emerged as a strong candidate. Kim, a 29th-grade civil service exam passer, worked in the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Cooperation Bureau and International Finance Bureau. He also served as an economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB). He held the position of Planning and Coordination Office Director at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and served as Economic and Financial Secretary at the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration.

Additionally, current association president Jung Hee-su, a former politician, expressed his intention to seek reappointment, and former lawmaker Yoon Jin-sik, also a politician, is among the candidates. Yoon, a 12th-grade civil service exam passer, served as Minister of Industry and Resources, Economic Secretary during the Lee Myung-bak administration, and was an economic advisor during President-elect Yoon Seok-youl’s transition period.

Competition is unfolding across the public, private, and political sectors. Kim Sung-han, CEO of DGB Life, who was also rumored as a private sector candidate alongside former CEO Sung, reportedly declined to run to avoid vote splitting. However, some view that the possibility of Sung’s selection has decreased since Cho Yong-byeong, former chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, was appointed as chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks. Having two Shinhan affiliates in financial association leadership positions could be burdensome. An industry insider said, "The industry consensus is that it would be better to have someone from the government side with practical experience related to insurance systems or someone from the private sector who knows the field well, rather than a parachute candidate from the political circles," adding, "It seems this sentiment is being reflected, which is why the selection process is taking longer."

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