Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Celebrates 100 Years, 'Talent is the Best' Leadership of Kim Yong-beom Shines

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Celebrates 100th Anniversary on October 1
Kim Yong-beom, Vice Chairman of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, Draws Attention with Innovative Management

Kim Yong-beom, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Employees at the Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, have been busy lately scheduling meals with company executives, including Kim Yong-beom, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance. This is because, as Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance approaches its 100th anniversary on the 1st of next month, key executives are taking turns hosting meals with employees from different departments.

Vice Chairman Kim, who dislikes authoritarianism and formality, chose to hold rotating meals with employees to listen to their on-site stories and offer encouragement instead of organizing grand commemorative events for the 100th anniversary. This reflects Kim’s management philosophy, which values substance over appearances.

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, celebrating its 100th anniversary, is drawing attention for its remarkable growth under Kim Yong-beom’s quiet yet innovative management style.

Early 1920s Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance (formerly Chosun Fire & Marine Insurance) founding office building exterior view

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, the first in the insurance industry to reach 100 years... Kim Yong-beom’s 'Innovative Management' draws attention

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance was established in 1922 during the Japanese colonial period under the name Joseon Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. It was incorporated into the Hanjin Group in 1967 and later separated from the group in 2005, changing its name to Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance.

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance is regarded as having been reborn after 2005. Jo Jung-ho, Chairman of Meritz Financial Group, who prioritizes talent management, completely transformed the company’s structure by recruiting top professional managers based on strict performance principles.

In particular, since Kim Yong-beom was appointed CEO of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance in 2015, the company has begun to experience remarkable growth. Kim is recognized as an ‘icon of innovation’ for boldly implementing various changes and innovations in the traditionally conservative insurance industry.

Immediately upon taking office, Kim introduced ‘Amoeba Management’ company-wide, transforming all organizations into performance-oriented units. Amoeba Management involves dividing a large company into small units by division, with each individual adopting an entrepreneurial mindset to keep the organization running. The company’s overall profit and loss statement is broken down by division so that employees can check it in real time.

Each employee can check their own performance report in real time and receive differentiated and maximized rewards based on their results, transforming them from mere parts of the organization into independent business entities with an ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’ Thanks to this, the average annual salary of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance employees significantly exceeds the industry average.

Since his appointment in 2015, Kim has stated in messages to employees, "I am convinced that the company can only develop if its employees are happy," adding, "For employees to be happy, first, they must do meaningful and valuable work; second, they must be fairly evaluated and rewarded for their results; and third, they must have time to spend with their loved ones."

Fastest growth among insurers achieved through merit-based talent recruitment

Kim also innovatively changed the uniform sales organization structure in the insurance industry. In March 2015, the existing three-tier sales management structure of ‘headquarters-region-branch’ was slimmed down by eliminating both headquarters and regional units, connecting sales branches directly under the headquarters. The sales management costs saved through this restructuring were used to strengthen product competitiveness and support for sales agents.

He introduced a promotion system for sales agents to become heads of departments, completely abolishing the implicit caste system and career limitations within the sales organization. Sales agents who meet certain criteria are promoted to sales managers regardless of gender, age, or educational background, and receive industry-leading monthly compensation based on the performance of their departments. This broke down barriers related to academic background, regional ties, and blood relations, introducing a strictly merit-based personnel system.

As a result of these management and corporate culture innovations, the company has continued a quantum leap of record-breaking performances every year. Net profit, which was 170 billion KRW at the end of 2015, grew nearly fourfold to 660 billion KRW by the end of 2021. In the first half of this year, it achieved 464 billion KRW, and it is expected to break its all-time record again this year.

During the same period, total assets, sales, and market capitalization also approximately doubled, growing from 14.6 trillion KRW, 5.6 trillion KRW, and 1.7 trillion KRW to 27.9 trillion KRW, 10 trillion KRW, and 4 trillion KRW, respectively.

Key indicators reflecting employee satisfaction with the company have also risen positively. The average length of service increased from 8 years and 11 months in 2015 to 11 years and 6 months by the end of 2021, and the average employee salary rose from about 69 million KRW in 2015 to approximately 102 million KRW in 2021.

In a message to employees last July, Kim emphasized, "Our goal is to achieve the Triple Crown by 2025," adding, "We aim to be number one in long-term insurance sales, net profit, and market capitalization." Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance is preparing for another major leap in 2025, marking the 10th anniversary of Kim’s appointment.