Samsung Financial Executive Personnel Changes a 'Tempest in a Teapot'... No Impact from Electronics Slump

32 Executives Promoted at 5 Samsung Financial Affiliates
3 More Than Last Year
Reflecting Confidence from Record-Breaking Performance

The executive personnel changes at Samsung Financial Networks (Life Insurance, Fire & Marine Insurance, Card, Securities, Asset Management), a financial affiliate of Samsung Group, turned out to be a 'tempest in a teacup,' contrary to initial expectations. There were concerns that the reduction in executive promotions due to Samsung Electronics' poor performance would extend to Samsung Financial, but the number of promotions at Samsung Financial actually increased compared to last year.

An outdoor billboard near Gangnam Station in Seoul is displaying Samsung Financial Networks' "Pension Power" advertisement. Photo by Samsung Financial.

According to the financial sector on the 3rd, Samsung Financial announced its '2025 regular executive personnel changes' on the same day. This year, 32 executives were promoted across the five Samsung Financial affiliates, an increase of 3 from 29 last year.

Samsung Life Insurance promoted 8 executives, including 2 vice presidents (Park Haegwan, Lee Jonghoon) and 6 managing directors (Kim Won, Song Jungyu, Yang Kyungyong, Won Changhee, Yoo Seunghyup, Jang Jeongsu). Compared to last year, the number of vice presidents increased by 1, but managing directors decreased by 2, resulting in a total decrease of 1 promotion compared to the previous year.

Newly appointed Vice President Park Haegwan joined Samsung Life Insurance and has served as head of Strategy Support Team 1, FC Support Team, and GA Business Division. New Vice President Lee Jonghoon, originally from Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, served as head of the General Insurance Support Team and Management Support Team at Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and last year was an executive in charge of the Financial Competitiveness Enhancement Task Force at Samsung Life Insurance. A Samsung Life Insurance official stated, "This executive personnel change focused on accelerating innovation by selecting individuals who can maximize insurance value and implement future business models regardless of age or seniority, based on comprehensive judgment of performance and growth potential." He added, "We plan to strengthen growth engines for future new businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI), senior business, and healthcare, as well as the core insurance business."

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance promoted a total of 11 executives, including 4 vice presidents (Go Kiho, Park Minjae, Bang Daewon, Lee Sangdong) and 7 managing directors (Kim Dohyung, Kim Suyeon, Kim Cheoljin, Lee Beomyeol, Lee Haeseong, Jo Jinman, Choi Seongjin). Compared to last year, the number of vice presidents increased by 3, and managing directors remained unchanged, resulting in 3 more promotions than the previous year.

New Vice President Go Kiho gained digital experience while serving as managing director and head of the Digital Promotion Team and Digital Headquarters. New Vice President Park Minjae worked as head of the Management Support Office at Samsung Asset Management before moving to Samsung Life Insurance this year to lead the Strategic Investment Business Division. New Vice President Bang Daewon served as an executive in the HR team. New Vice President Lee Sangdong has held positions such as head of the Regional Compensation Team 1 and head of the Auto Compensation Planning Team.

New Managing Director Kim Suyeon is the only female executive with a high school diploma in this personnel change. Before the announcement, she was head of the Honam GA Sales Promotion Part. A Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance official explained, "This executive personnel change emphasized appointing talents who will lead future new growth areas such as global, healthcare, and mobility, considering not only expertise and work capabilities but also a challenging mindset and execution ability." He added, "By boldly appointing a female executive with a high school diploma, we prioritized performance and capability regardless of educational background or gender."

Samsung Card promoted a total of 4 executives, including 1 vice president (Kim Daesoon) and 3 managing directors (Kim Doheon, Yoo Sangil, Han Sangmin). Compared to last year, the number of vice presidents remained the same at 1, but managing directors decreased by 2, resulting in 2 fewer promotions than the previous year. New Vice President Kim Daesoon joined Samsung Card in 1995 and has served as senior head of the HR team, managing director in charge of HR, and head of the Risk Management Office. A Samsung Card official said, "This executive personnel change selected outstanding talents with excellent performance and growth potential regardless of seniority, based on a meritocratic personnel philosophy." He added, "We also focused on building a future growth foundation based on digital and data innovation and securing sustainable competitiveness."

Samsung Securities promoted a total of 6 executives, including 1 vice president (Go Youngdong) and 5 managing directors (Kim Youngsoo, Park Sungho, Lee Gideok, Lee Byunghoon, Lee Seongju). Compared to last year, the number of vice presidents remained the same at 1, but managing directors increased by 2, resulting in 2 more promotions than the previous year. New Vice President Go Youngdong graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration and has served as managing director in charge of the Financial Competitiveness Enhancement Task Force at Samsung Life Insurance. A Samsung Securities official said, "This executive personnel change selected outstanding personnel who contributed to business performance creation based on meritocratic personnel principles." He added, "We expanded the scale of promotions compared to previous years, focusing on strengthening market competitiveness."

Samsung Asset Management announced the promotion of 3 executives: 1 vice president (Kim Yongmin) and 2 managing directors (Park Jiho, Yoo Jinhwan). The number of managing directors increased by 1 compared to last year. New Vice President Kim Yongmin graduated from Sogang University with a degree in Business Administration and has served in the IR Finance Team of the Management Planning Office at Samsung C&T, as strategic planning officer at Samsung Card, and as head of the Management Support Office at Samsung Asset Management.

This Samsung Financial executive personnel change differed in atmosphere from that of Samsung Electronics and other electronics affiliates. The total number of executive promotions at Samsung Electronics affiliates such as Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics this year was 38, down 18 (32.1%) from 56 last year. Samsung Electronics also announced 137 executive promotions, down 6 (4.19%) from 143 last year.

Unlike the electronics affiliates, which are clouded by poor semiconductor performance and other factors, Samsung Financial, including Life and Fire & Marine Insurance, demonstrated performance by achieving record-high results this year, which is interpreted as the reason why the atmosphere of executive reduction did not continue. The combined net income on a separate basis for the third quarter of this year for the five Samsung Financial affiliates is 4.669 trillion KRW. Samsung Life Insurance recorded 1.5508 trillion KRW, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 1.8344 trillion KRW, Samsung Securities 691.2 billion KRW, Samsung Card 529.1 billion KRW, and Samsung Asset Management 62.5 billion KRW. Samsung Life Insurance currently holds stakes in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (14.98%), Samsung Securities (29.39%), Samsung Card (71.87%), and Samsung Asset Management (100%).