CEO Won Jong-gyu of Korean Reinsurance Co. at his inaugural 

ceremony on June 14.(photo courtesy of Korean Re)

   Korean Reinsurance Co. (Korean Re) named Won Jong-gyu its CEO on June 14 with the approval of shareholders and the board of directors. He is the third son of Won Hyuk-hee, a majority shareholder of Korean Re, the company said.

He entered Korean Re in 1986 and came up through the ranks just like any other employee, taking charge of many divisions in the company including HR, accounting, and education, as well as the marine insurance area, giving him experience in a broad area of the company’s operations.

He was also assigned to the reinsurance firm’s office in New York to learn the overseas operations. Won, a graduate of Myungji University, also attended the Yonsei University Graduate School in Seoul.

The new CEO said he feels the weight of the new responsibilities to run the company as successfully as his predecessors had done. “Korean Re has established itself as the leading reinsurer in Korea over the past half century, setting standards and practices for domestic reinsurance services and helping primary insurers effectively transfer and manage risks. We have also played an essential role in bringing in advanced insurance expertise and techniques from overseas, driving the growth of the local insurance industry,” Won said.

“I have to pay my deep respects to my immediate predecessor, Park Jong-won, who in the past 15 years of service as  CEO put the company on a solid foundation with his outstanding leadership and the dedication of all officers and staff of the company.

“During the days before my inauguration as CEO, I thought about the ways to run the company to be a top-class global reinsurance firm, especially about the tough tasks ahead.

“I felt that management should be centered on talented personnel to change the company as an entity full of talented experts by mixing the values of the company and each staff member so that the company’s DNAs for change and growth are those that only top-class businesses can have and everyone in the company feels it,” Won said.

He said he heard from a Samsung executive whom he knows well that the great success the group has achieved is owed to the top management’s leadership and encouragement of every officer and staff member to hold a vision to excel in their own professional areas and become top experts under the philosophy of “Priority on Top Talent Personnel.” He was surprised to hear that from him because he thought he would say something that came straight out of the management books such as ‘reformative IT,’ and ‘outstanding leadership’ and other standard words.

“I felt my hopes for a Dream Company springing up in mind then that everyone working for the company will be its masters and try to do their best to achieve perfection in their own areas of responsibility. Each and every member of Korean Re will face up to the challenge, tirelessly working to innovate its business model and improve operational efficiency and corporate culture. This will lead the company to become the top reinsurer in the world, as the company already is the top reinsurer in Asia.

“We should not rest on our laurels. The next 50 years are likely to bring about more dynamic changes and much fiercer competition that we have had over the past 50 years,” Won said.

CEO Won Jong-gyu of Korean Re, 2nd L, is with executives of Korean Re at the opening reception  of the Int’l 

Insurance Society Seminar  at Seoul  Museum, in Seoul.                  [photo by NewsWorld]

“Korean Re is committed to vigorously pushing ahead with its global business operations and exploring new growth engines to continuously flourish in the ever-intensifying business environment.” 

“As the only home-grown reinsurer in Korea, we have developed uniquely strong relations with clients based on trust and reliability,” he said. “Building on this experience, Korean Re will cultivate a broader base of customers on a global level by enhancing its capabilities to provide high-quality customized services through mutually beneficial business relationships.”