President Lee Seong-rak of Shinhan Life Insurance Co.

The winners of the Korea Financial Service Commission Awards pose for a photo session with the awards they won including President Lee Seong-rak of Shinhan Life Insurance Co. which won the award in the life insurance sector.(Photo:Shinhan Life)

Shinhan Life Insurance Co. won the Financial Service Commission Award at the 2nd Korea Fund Asset Management Grand Awards at the Korea Economic Daily’s Dasan Hall in Seoul on June 24. The award is the top honor in the area of life insurance. Some 100 people watched the presentation, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Hwang Woo-yeo, and the award winners in each of the categories.

Shinhan Life President Lee Seong-rak said the firm won the award two years in a row in recognition of its focus on risk control to secure stability for investment amid rapid changes in the external climate for investments.

Also he gave  the company credit for its heavy investments overseas and replacement investments, leading the company to search for creative new markets, which is enhancing its competitive edge in asset management.

The CEO also noted that the effort to boost the company’s management capacity, which settled as its corporate culture, has been a strong suit for the life insurance firm.

Lee gave credit to his predecessors for securing soundness of assets and profitability as a life insurance firm affiliated with a financial group.

He explained that the company has been expanding its overseas investments, but avoided investing in foreign currency bonds to be ready for boosts in U.S. Federal Reserve interest rates. The company focused on asset management on foreign currency deposits, which boosted its profit.

The CEO also stressed that now is the time where changes and reform are needed in the life insurance industry, adding that the life insurers would have to suffer the losses from a negative profit margin due to low interest rates for the time being, which should be overcome with expanded investments overseas to find new profit sources.

Lee, however, cautioned that one has to be prepared to expand overseas investments with serious analyses of those financial market, especially where investment would be made, as too much could endanger the soundness of assets as it determines the competitiveness of a life insurance firm.