[Issue Interview] Ha Tae-kyung: "AI Subsidiary Launching in May... Tuition Coin Payments to Include Bithumb"

Ha Tae-kyung, President of the Korea Insurance Training Institute, has a particular interest in driving innovation in the insurance industry through artificial intelligence (AI). From his inaugural address in 2024 to his first press conference after taking office, he has consistently emphasized making the integration of AI into the institute a core agenda. His vision is to transform the Korea Insurance Training Institute, which has functioned solely as an educational institution, into an AI-based education platform and, in doing so, generate new revenue models.

Ha Tae-kyung, President of the Korea Insurance Training Institute, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the Korea Insurance Training Institute in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

원본보기 아이콘

The first step in bringing this vision to reality is the establishment of an AI subsidiary. In an interview with The Asia Business Daily on March 10, President Ha stated, "We will complete the launch of the AI subsidiary by May," adding, "We are planning to hold the first briefing session regarding the subsidiary's business soon."

He identified the core businesses of the soon-to-be-launched AI subsidiary as AI coaching and an AI-powered Learning Management System (LMS). The strategy is to enhance the quality of insurance education using AI technology, while also selling these education solutions externally to diversify the revenue structure.

President Ha explained, "If you include insurance planners and bank employees who sell insurance, the total comes to about 600,000 people," adding, "A model where AI interacts with planners in the manner of an instructor and conducts training that simulates real sales situations will greatly help new planners improve their sales capabilities."

The second core business is the AI-based Learning Management System (LMS). Currently, most of the institute's revenue is generated from cyber education, with approximately 65% of total sales coming from the online education platform. However, the current educational content is primarily video-based. President Ha said he plans to integrate AI assistance features to improve learning efficiency. He explained, "If a learner encounters a term or concept they don't understand, AI can provide an immediate answer, and if they want to revisit a section, they can jump directly to it using keyword search."

He also revealed a plan to eventually evolve this AI-based LMS into an AI Learning Experience Platform (LXP). The institute will gradually convert its internal education system to an AI LXP-based system and, through the AI subsidiary, will sell AI LXP package solutions to corporate clients. President Ha said, "Our initial target is large insurance companies," adding, "We plan to expand to educational institutions, universities, and public organizations in the future."

The Korea Insurance Training Institute's exam creation system will also be converted to an AI-based system. Currently, qualification exams for insurance underwriters are created by committees of question setters and reviewers. The plan is to automate this process using AI. President Ha said, "The AI exam creation system is nearly complete," and added, "By the end of this year, we expect to have exams that are 100% generated by AI."

Ha Tae-kyung, President of the Insurance Training Institute, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the Insurance Training Institute in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

원본보기 아이콘

President Ha also has a keen interest in crypto. At a New Year's press conference, he announced plans to develop the institute into a new financial education institution centered on crypto, outlining his ambition to lead AI and crypto innovation across the entire financial sector beyond just insurance. This vision was realized through a pilot project accepting tuition payments in stablecoins. Last month, the Korea Insurance Training Institute allowed tuition payments for the '2nd Crypto Literacy Course' to be made in stablecoins (USDT and USDC).

He said that, having confirmed the stability of the payment system through this trial operation, the institute plans to expand its collaboration with major domestic virtual asset exchanges. President Ha noted, "Accepting tuition in stablecoins results in much lower fees compared to card payments," and added, "Currently, payments are possible only through Upbit wallets, but from next month, Bithumb will also be added."

Ultimately, the goal is to establish a system where payments can be made directly from personal wallets to the institute's wallet. According to him, this would reduce the inconvenience of having to verify identity each time when using an exchange wallet.

He identified auto insurance as the field where the synergy between insurance and AI is most significant. At the end of last year, he witnessed this firsthand in Shenzhen, China, along with insurance industry staff. In Korea, when a car accident occurs, it typically takes about two weeks from claim to vehicle repair, as the process-accident investigation, repair cost assessment, and insurance payout-proceeds step by step.

However, the situation in China was different. When an accident occurs, photos of the damaged vehicle are uploaded to an AI application, which analyzes them and estimates the repair costs and insurance payout. This process was completed within an hour at most. President Ha said that such cases demonstrate how AI technology is fundamentally transforming consumer experience in the insurance industry.

Finally, he emphasized that, in discussions of insurance policy, consumer choice is just as important as consumer protection. While protecting consumers is important, creating an environment where consumers have a variety of product choices is also a policy for the benefit of consumers. President Ha said, "Because simple insurance products in China are introduced through a notification system, a variety of products can quickly come to market," stressing, "Creating an environment that expands consumer choice through competition is true consumer policy."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.