Korean Re, headed by CEO Park Jong-won, has been named the 10th largest reinsurer in the world by S&P, up 2 ranks in 2011, and has been the largest in Asia in terms of insurance funds since 2002, the reinsurance firm said recently.

The company said the upgraded position means that its Vision 2020 announced in 2007, in which it aims to rank the 10th largest in 2010 and the fifth in the world in 2020, has been progressing smoothly. Munich Re ranked first and Swiss Re came in second place with Toa Re of Japan far behind Korean Re in 19th.

In 1998, the company ranked 32nd on the list, but jumped 22 ranks to reach 10th in 2011 through diverse business operations and tight risk management, the company said.

Korean Re officials said the main force in the company’s climb to be the 10th largest reinsurer in the world has been the adoption of the Vision 2020 since the inauguration of President Park with the entire company going all out to achieve the goal under his strong leadership. CEO Park is seen as the force that created a new positive and challenging corporate culture that backed up the company’s push for the goal.

In detail, the company developed a number of new reinsurance products and strengthened its domestic market base to improve its customer service and stabilize its overseas operation by focusing on Asia, which accounts for 12 percent of the company’s reinsurance business growth annually on average from 1998.

They also noted that the company has been able to manage reinsurance risks well through serious analyses that are both systematic and scientific of the reinsurance contracts they take over.

Amid global disasters that swept the world in 2011, many reinsurance firms saw their credit ratings plummet with serious financial problems, but Korean Re has been able to maintain it’s A rating from AM Best and A- rating from S&P and continues to maintain a sound pace of growth for the days ahead.

The company’s new listing as 10th in the world is expected to boost the value of the company in the international market and the value of its brand as well spur its overseas operations.

The company will continue to challenge itself under President Park, who has led the change and reform of Korean Re since his arrival at the company, and it expects to see its brand value rise in the international reinsurance market, Korean Re officials said.

The company’s Vision 2020 calls for rising to rank eighth in the world by 2015 through the expansion of the domestic market and diverse new businesses abroad in order to continue to fight its way up to the rank of fifth in the international reinsurance industry by 2020.

This year, the company expects to get reinsurance worth 5.7 trillion won and 200 billion won in after-tax profit, solidifying its position as the 10th ranked reinsurer in the world.

Korean Re has offices or branches in such overseas locations as Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, New York, Beijing, and Dubai.

The Middle East emerged as a new target market from the 2000s and the market for technology insurance has expanded rapidly with the boom in construction in the region amid a surging economy fueled by a huge inflow of oil money.

To reach its growth target, the company will acquire stakes in local insurance companies in countries with growth potential in an effort to diversify its business portfolio, CEO Park Jong-won noted.

Park said the company plans to sharply increase the share of its overseas business in the near future. With the upgrade of Korean Re’s credit rating to A- from S&P in late 2006, he said the company’s overseas business focus will shift from Asia to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America, during its initial stage. Then, under the second phase, the company will move on to Europe and the Americas.