Samsung Financial Affiliates Executive Appointments... Future Challenges
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's Choi Young-moo and Samsung Securities' Jang Seok-hoon 'Reappointed'
[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Hyung-gil, Ki Ha-young, Geum Bo-ryeong] A major generational shift has taken place among the presidents of Samsung’s financial affiliates.
Jeon Young-mook, CEO of Samsung Asset Management, has been appointed as the new CEO of Samsung Life Insurance, while Kim Dae-hwan and Shim Jong-geuk, both former Samsung Life executives, have moved to Samsung Card and Samsung Asset Management respectively. The '60-year rule' was applied in this personnel reshuffle, which prominently features the advancement of Samsung Life Insurance alumni, similar to the major personnel changes made a day earlier in key Samsung Group affiliates.
Samsung Life Insurance announced on the 21st that its Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee decided to recommend Jeon Young-mook (56) as the candidate for CEO.
Born in 1964, Jeon graduated from Yonsei University and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. After joining Samsung Life Insurance in 1986, he held key positions such as head of the Financial Review Team, head of the Investment Business Division, and head of the Asset Management Headquarters. In 2015, he moved to Samsung Securities as head of the Management Support Office and has led Samsung Asset Management since 2018.
He has built a career across the financial sector, gaining recognition for his management skills not only in life insurance but also in securities and asset management. He is expected to play the role of a 'savior' for Samsung Life Insurance, which has been experiencing a decline in performance.
Samsung Life Insurance maintained its position as the industry leader by surpassing total assets of 300 trillion won for the first time in the insurance industry last year, but it could not avoid the overall downturn affecting the insurance sector. Its cumulative net profit for the first three quarters of last year was 976.8 billion won, a 43.4% decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Particularly, due to market saturation, profits in the insurance sector fell from 1.603 trillion won in 2017 to 1.366 trillion won in 2018. In the first to third quarters of last year, insurance sector profits were 1.029 trillion won, slightly down from 1.058 trillion won in the same period the previous year.
Won Ki-chan, considered a long-serving CEO in the card industry, decided to retire in this personnel reshuffle. His successor is Kim Dae-hwan, head of Management Support at Samsung Life Insurance (57).
Born in 1963, Kim graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Economics and joined Samsung Life Insurance in 1986. He has held positions such as Marketing Group Executive Director, Management Support Executive Director, and Senior Executive Director of Management Support, and has served as Vice President since 2018. Kim faces numerous challenges ahead. The card industry, which faced profitability deterioration due to merchant fee reductions last year, is focusing on business diversification and securing profitability. Kim is also expected to emphasize restructuring the business around profitability and digital innovation, including big data as a future growth engine.
Shim Jong-geuk, head of Samsung Life Insurance’s FC Sales Headquarters (58), has been appointed as CEO of Samsung Asset Management. Shim joined Samsung Life Insurance in 1986 and has held various roles including overseas investment team leader, head of retail finance business, head of strategic sales, and head of FC sales. He is recognized for his expertise in asset management and financial marketing. Shim graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Business Administration and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Oxford.
Meanwhile, Choi Young-moo (57), CEO of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Jang Seok-hoon (57), CEO of Samsung Securities, have been retained. Choi succeeded in one term renewal but is expected to face a challenging management environment this year. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s net profit for the first to third quarters last year was 585.9 billion won, a 35.1% decrease from the previous year, making performance improvement an urgent task. Jang was promoted to president.
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