Kim Yeon-bae, former head of Hanwha Emergency Management Committee, was named vice chairman and CEO of Hanwha Life Insurance Co. on Oct. 29.
The appointment was approved at the shareholders’ and board meetings on Oct. 29 at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul.
The vice chairman will share his duty as CEO with President Cha Nam-kyu. Kim said he will try to upgrade the company’s corporate cultural value. He said he is excited to work for the life insurer, which he helped acquire by Hanwha Group in 2002, and now feels an enormous sense of responsibility.
The vice chairman said he will focus on creating a customer-centered environment to overcome the tough times that the life industry is facing, and at the same time, strengthen the company’s competitive power at jobsites.
Hanwha Life announced that its 3rd quarter net profit amounted to 17.7 billion won bringing total profit in the first three quarters of this year to 38.3 billion won, up 16.6 percent year-on-year. The company continued to improve its RBC ratio rising to 272 percent at the end of Q3, from 261.4 at the end of Q2 and 247.7 percent at the end of the Q1, the company said. Profitability and robust health of the company's operation showed continued improvement, the company said.
Kim is an economics graduate of Seoul National University and entered Hanwha Securities in 1968. He has held various top jobs during his career, including the group’s financial team head, president of the restructuring headquarters, vice chairman of the financial sector and chairman of the emergency management committee. After Korea’s liberation, the nation’s first life insurance company was founded at on Sept. 9, 1946. It was the predecessor of Hanwha Life, Korea Life. Since then, the company has continued holistic innovation to satisfy customers. Taking the lead in the insurance industry with differentiated competitiveness and professionalism, Hanwha Life has become a benchmark within the Korean insurance market. Hanwha Life became a member of Hanwha Group on Dec. 12, 2002.
Hanwha Life has had a number of hardships over the past 66 years, but since becoming a family of Hanwha Group, it has continuously improved itself. With total assets exceeding 50 trillion won in 2008 and 70 trillion won in 2012, Hanwha Life was able to grow on the basis of its core values, which are challenge, dedication and integrity.A new beginning for Hanwha Life
On Oct. 9, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Hanwha Group, Korea Life made a new start with its new name, Hanwha Life. Hanwha Life now stands at a new starting line, to be a company that improves the lives of customers with its vision, “A Global Insurance Company, Growing Together With Customers,” and its slogan, “Financial Solution for Tomorrow.”
Hanwha Life opened an office in Beijing in August 2003 and has been planning to enter the Chinese insurance market since then. These efforts resulted in an MOU in December 2009 to establish a joint venture life insurance company with Zhejiang International Business Group, one of the 500 largest companies in China. The joint venture started its operation in December 2012 and is named Sino-Korea Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Hanwha Life became the second Korean insurance company to enter the China insurance market, and began to make efforts to be a global insurance company.
The head office of Sino-Korea Life is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and its business strategy has been established with a focus on thorough localization. Hanwha Life will do its best to grow into one of the top two foreign-affiliated companies in Zhejiang province by 2015, achieving a 240 million yuan premium (about 44 billion won).
To diversify overseas investment portfolios, Hanwha Life established another representative office in Honk Kong in April 2013. A comprehensive overseas investment network of the three main financial centers — Hong Kong, New York and London — the company will develop a more active international investments portfolio.
