Ha Tae-kyung on 'Samsung Life Insurance Accounting' Controversy: "Stop Undermining Samsung... Now Is the Time to Support"

Ha Tae-kyung, Director of the Insurance Training Institute and a former three-term lawmaker, criticized the financial supervisory authorities' response to the Samsung Life Insurance accounting controversy, calling it an attempt to undermine Samsung.

At a press conference marking his first anniversary in office held near Yeouido, Seoul, on the 1st, Director Ha stated, "I don't understand why Samsung is being targeted under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS17). I question whether those who are trying to shake Samsung Electronics through Samsung Life Insurance truly understand the national economy and global trade."

Director Ha's remarks are interpreted as pointing out that the Financial Supervisory Service is moving to prevent Samsung Life Insurance from using exceptional accounting practices. On September 1, Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, pledged during a press briefing after meeting with insurance company CEOs that the Samsung Life Insurance accounting issue would be resolved without delay.

Ha Tae-kyung, Director of the Insurance Training Institute, is speaking at a press conference marking his first anniversary in office held near Yeouido, Seoul, on the 1st. Photo by Choi Donghyun

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The Samsung Life Insurance accounting controversy centers on two main issues. First, Samsung Life Insurance has classified the valuation gains from Samsung Electronics and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance shares, purchased with premiums from participating policyholders, under a separate liability account called 'policyholder equity adjustment' instead of 'insurance liabilities' that would return profits to customers. The second issue is whether the performance of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, a subsidiary, should be included in Samsung Life Insurance's consolidated financial results through the equity method. Until now, financial authorities have permitted Samsung Life Insurance to use exceptional accounting practices. However, as criticism has mounted over whether this approach aligns with the IFRS17 system introduced in 2023, the controversy has continued. Director Ha commented, "If Samsung Life Insurance sells its Samsung Electronics shares, it will negatively impact the government's goal of achieving KOSPI 5000," adding, "In the current environment of tariff and trade wars, now is the time to support Samsung."

On this day, Director Ha also presented a blueprint for the future vision of the Insurance Training Institute. He expressed the intention to transform the institute into a next-generation financial education institution that leads the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and stablecoins.

The Insurance Training Institute plans to develop a learning AI based on an AI question bank and commercialize it early. The institute will systematically accumulate insurance qualification exam questions and data into the AI question bank and develop a large language model (LLM) trained on this data to serve as a learning assistant for exam preparation.

There are also plans to establish a 'learn to earn' system where studying leads to financial rewards. Learners who complete crypto education and participate in activities such as solving problems will accumulate 'learn to earn' points (tokens), which can be redeemed for tangible benefits. Director Ha stated, "We plan to create a system where studying itself generates income," adding, "We will also collaborate with coin-listed companies so that the learning tokens we issue can be converted into cash."

The institute also aims to build a citizen profit-sharing economy model. The goal is to enable insurance industry professionals and financial consumers to access high-quality education anytime and anywhere through learning AI and learning tokens. The accumulated learning data will be used to create an ecosystem that shares profits with citizens.

Director Ha further stated that regulations should be eased to allow insurance companies to invest in virtual assets. He said, "South Korea is the only OECD country where companies cannot purchase Bitcoin," adding, "If Bitcoin is linked with whole life insurance, it will attract significant interest from the 2030 generation."

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