60% Female Employees... 30 New Hires Annually at LINA Life Insurance [K Population Strategy]

Lina Life Implements Family-Friendly Gender Equality Policy
One in Three Team Leaders and Executives Are Women
CEO Jo Ji-eun, the Only Female CEO in the Insurance Industry

Jang Min-seok, Deputy General Manager (40), who works in the audit team at LINA Life Insurance, the first foreign life insurance company in Korea, wakes up in the morning with his 5-year-old daughter. Without the need to rush through meals, he leisurely prepares and arrives at the company around 8:30 a.m. together with his daughter. Upon entering the company daycare center, a childcare teacher who has prepared warm porridge and fruit welcomes his daughter. Deputy General Manager Jang watches his daughter eat a hearty breakfast and then heads to his desk to start work. He said, "The daycare center is larger and better equipped than public daycare centers, so my wife even wants to enroll our second child there," adding, "Even when I have to work late urgently, it’s reassuring that the daycare center takes care of my daughter’s dinner."

Jang Min-seok, Deputy General Manager (40), works in the audit team at LINA Life Insurance. Deputy General Manager Jang starts his day by leaving his 5-year-old daughter at the company's daycare center, Kids Naru.

LINA Life Insurance is striving to create a family-friendly corporate culture under the philosophy that employee satisfaction is the foundation of company growth. Various in-house welfare programs are operated to ensure that employees do not face difficulties with childbirth and childcare. A representative example is the workplace daycare center Kids Naru, which opened in 2020. Within a year of its opening, Kids Naru received the highest grade, A, in the daycare center evaluation certification conducted by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education under the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2021. This year, it was selected as an Open Daycare Center by Jongno-gu, reflecting continuous quality improvements.

LINA Life Insurance is well-known not only in the insurance sector but also across the entire financial industry as a great workplace for women. As various gender equality policies have reduced the burden on employees regarding childbirth and childcare, the number of female employees has naturally increased. The company’s management philosophy is that when a family-friendly culture is established and the company becomes a good workplace for women, the company grows and also helps solve important demographic issues for insurance companies.

As of the 5th of this month, LINA Life Insurance has 396 female regular employees, accounting for 61% of the total workforce. Over the past five years, the proportion of female regular employees has maintained an average of around 60%. This is a very rare figure even among large corporations across all industries in Korea beyond the financial sector. The proportion of female managers is also high compared to other industries. Women make up 38% (20 people) of team leaders and 32% (9 people) of executives. Five female top executives (C-level), including CEO Jo Ji-eun, CFO, and COO, are currently working at the company.

Born in 1975, CEO Jo Ji-eun is the only female CEO in the insurance industry. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in nursing, she worked at LG Investment & Securities and MetLife Life Insurance before joining LINA Life Insurance in 2011. Since her appointment as CEO in December 2020, she has contributed to LINA Life Insurance’s emergence as a family-friendly company. The in-house Korean and Western medicine clinics she introduced are welfare benefits envied by most in the insurance industry. Specialists and nurses are stationed at the in-house clinics to take care of employees’ health. The purpose is to reduce the time employees spend outside and increase the time they can spend with their families, thereby improving their physical and mental health.

CEO Jo’s management style has also been proven by results. Net income, which was 233.1 billion KRW in 2021, her first year in office, steadily increased to 363.1 billion KRW in 2022 and 464 billion KRW in 2023. The net profit for the first half of this year was 262.7 billion KRW, a 40.2% increase compared to the same period last year. CEO Jo successfully secured her second term in October.

LINA Life Insurance has been implementing a 35-hour workweek since 2017. The daily working hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., totaling 7 hours. This system allows employees to take care of their children after school or daycare, and unmarried employees can also use their personal time, making it the most preferred system among employees. From the second year of employment, employees are provided with 22 to a maximum of 35 days of leave to minimize childcare gaps and provide work-life balance.

The annual Family Day is one of LINA Life Insurance’s proud major events that emphasize the lives of employees’ families. Employees and their families are invited to the company to boost pride in the workplace and foster family harmony. Last year, employees’ parents were invited, and at this year’s event held on October 25, children were invited, making it an event that welcomes various family members each year. At this year’s event, about 250 employees and their families enjoyed activities such as experiential events within LINA Tower, where employees work, family photo shoots, magic shows, and musical performances.

Various financial supports are also provided, including a progressive retirement pension system, 100% coverage of health insurance premiums, welfare cards, vacation allowances, and annual leave compensation. Various convenience facilities such as an employee-only fitness center and a library with 10,000 volumes are also available.

As a result of expanding various supports to create a good working environment, more than 30 employees give birth each year at LINA Life Insurance. Due to these efforts, the company was recognized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2020 as an excellent company for gender employment equality.

Lina Life Insurance Building. Provided by Lina Life Insurance