Lee Byeong-rae, Vice President of the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Sole Candidate for President of the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association

Both Candidates for Life and Non-Life Insurance Association President Selected from Seoul National University and Former Financial Officials Passed the Korean Civil Service Exam

Byung-rae Lee, Vice Chairman of External Cooperation at the Korea Institute of Certified Public Accountants, has been recommended as the sole candidate for the next president of the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association.

The Nomination Committee for the president of the Non-Life Insurance Association held its second meeting on the 5th and decided to recommend Vice Chairman Lee as the sole candidate for the 55th president of the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association to the general meeting. The association plans to hold a general meeting on the 20th to appoint the next president.

Born in 1964, Vice Chairman Lee graduated from Daejeon High School and entered Seoul National University in 1981, majoring in Trade. He holds a master's degree in Public Administration from the same university's graduate school and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Missouri, USA. He passed the 32nd Administrative Examination and served as head of the Market Research Division and Non-Bank Supervision Division at the Financial Supervisory Commission. At the Financial Services Commission, he held positions including head of the Insurance Division, spokesperson, and director of the Financial Services Bureau. He also served as president of the Financial Intelligence Unit, standing commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission, and president of the Korea Securities Depository. He is recognized for his expertise in the insurance sector and is highly regarded within the financial community, to the extent of being mentioned as a candidate for the first Financial Supervisory Service chief under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

The competition for the Non-Life Insurance Association president candidate was among former bureaucrats who passed the administrative examination. Alongside Chairman Lee, other leading candidates included Heo Kyung-wook, former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Yoo Kwang-yeol, president of SGI Seoul Guarantee Insurance, all of whom are administrative examination passers and held key positions at the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Ambassador Choi Hoon of Singapore, who emerged as a late candidate, also passed the 35th administrative examination and served at the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Financial Services Commission.

Initially, industry insiders considered President Yoo the frontrunner. This was partly because he is an alumnus of Seoul National University and a classmate of Choi Sang-mok, the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance. The balance of attention later shifted toward Ambassador Choi, who had not been widely mentioned before but began to gain buzz just before the second nomination committee meeting. Kim Cheol-joo, chairman of the Financial Creditors Adjustment Committee, who was finally appointed president of the Life Insurance Association on the same day, also rose suddenly just before the second nomination committee meeting and quickly became the sole candidate, leading the industry to view Ambassador Choi’s chances as significant. However, some viewed Ambassador Choi’s candidacy negatively due to his simultaneous consideration for the Korea Exchange chairman and SGI Seoul Guarantee Insurance president positions. Being a candidate for three positions raised concerns that he might be perceived more as a "parachute candidate" than a "qualified candidate."

As a result, the heads of the two major insurance associations are both Seoul National University alumni and former Financial Services Commission officials. An industry insider commented, "Given the many pressing issues such as win-win finance, simplification of claims for indemnity health insurance, activation of pet insurance, and the establishment of the new insurance accounting standard IFRS 17, we hope the new leaders will communicate smoothly with policy authorities and resolve these challenges."

Lee Byung-rae, Vice President of External Cooperation at the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, was recommended as the sole candidate by the Candidate Recommendation Committee of the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association on the 5th.

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