Chairman Shin Chang-jae of Kyobo Life Insurance Co. (Photos: Kyobo Life)

Kyobo Life Insurance marked its 61st anniversary Aug. 7. and celebrated it with the publication of a book on its 60-year history.

Founder Shin Yong-ho started the insurance firm with total assets of only 22 million won ($19,547) in 1958.

The firm has grown to become one of the nation's life insurance giants with combined assets of over 100 trillion won. It has 4.3 million policyholders with 8.5 million contracts.

“Don’t be so sad about our humble inauguration.” Shin said during the firm's foundation ceremony at its office in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, Aug. 7, 1958.

“It takes at least 50 years even for an insurance firm in a developed country to establish its foothold in the market. I will make Kyobo one of the top global insurance companies within 25 years. We will also have a huge skyscraper in central Seoul by then.” Under Shin’s leadership, Kyobo managed to build the Kyobo Building, an iconic landmark in downtown Seoul, in 1980, and then won the International Insurance Society award three years later.

The IIS is a global forum for all insurance industry stakeholders, probing vital issues and utilizing research works to help drive the industry's growth and innovation.

A Kyobo official said Shin founded the firm to help educate young Koreans based on his belief that they will rebuild the country from the ashes of the Korean War.

Unlike other insurance firms, Kyobo has introduced a series of education insurance products to provide youngsters with more learning opportunities.

Thanks to the firm's education insurance, about 3 million students have received scholar benefits for 30 years. And they have become the founding stone of Korea's miraculous economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Due to booming popularity in the firm's education insurance, Kyobo became the nation' largest insurance company in capital in 1967.

Kyobo Life Insurance, the third largest life insurer in the country, is looking to work with start-ups to strengthen a relatively new insurance category backed by advanced technologies that reward health-seeking activities.

Unlike other cooperation programs focused on financially supporting start-ups, Kyobo said that its program, dubbed Innostage, aims to actually apply technology from its chosen start-ups to its new businesses. “We will bring at least two to three new services to our healthcare application based on the technology cooperation, starting next year, after holding a demonstration event by the end of this year.” Kyobo said in a statement.

The healthcare application is used by holders of reward-based insurance programs that offer various benefits including discounts on insurance subscriptions, higher claims or different vouchers when a subscriber follows through with healthy goals such as taking a certain number of steps per day or eating meals with fewer calories.

The move comes after the financial authorities announced earlier this month a plan to lift regulations on such insurance programs by allowing insurers to provide wearable devices or health-related advice as a part of the programs.

Presently, insurance companies are banned from engaging in such activities.

The life insurer has selected five start-ups for the project. Potential business areas include products that reward healthy and regular dental care and eating habits.

A copy of the 60 Years History of Kyobo Life, which the life insurer published on its 61st anniversary on Aug. 7 this year.