Kyobo Life CEO accepts Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate title

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae has been honored as the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate by the International Insurance Society. Shin aims to redefine and improve the Korean life insurance industry's practices.

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae, left, shakes hands with Josh Landau, president of the International Insurance Society, after Shin accepts the reward as the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate in Singapore on Monday. [KYOBO LIFE INSURANCE]

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman and CEO Shin Chang-jae was honored for his appointment as a laureate by the New York-based International Insurance Society (IIS) in Singapore on Monday.

Shin was named the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate in March. He was honored for the appointment at the Global Insurance Forum held at the Hilton Singapore Orchard, said the Seoul-based firm on Tuesday.

The Insurance Hall of Fame recognizes leaders who have made a broad, encompassing and lasting contribution to the insurance industry, according to the IIS.

Kyobo Life is the country’s third largest insurer in terms of assets.

“All my life, I have fully committed myself to the life insurance industry,” Shin said in his acceptance speech. “It has been a fulfilling journey and I am proud to walk this path.”

Shin pointed out that the life insurance industry has transformed into a story of money as people involved, from insurance companies to financial planners, have become “overly focused on their own financial gains.”

He added, “My next challenge is to contribute to society through redefining and improving the prevailing practices of the Korean life insurance industry.”

Shin’s father and founder of Kyobo Life, Shin Young-ho, was the 1996 Laureate.

Shin took the helm of Kyobo Life as CEO in 2000. During his tenure, Shin has modified the company's management programs to focus on improving customer satisfaction, achieved financial stability, and shifted its business model from one focused on quantitative growth to one centered around qualitative growth, the insurer said.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]