Selection Process for Next Head of Korea Insurance Research Institute Begins in Earnest... Recommendation Committee Formed, First Meeting on the 14th

Kim Heonsu, Former Professor at Soonchunhyang University, Emerges as Leading Candidate
Active in "Growth and Integration" Policy Think Tank
Seong Juho, Kyung Hee University Business Professor, Also Considered
Expert in Insurance and Pension Secto

The process to select the next head of the Korea Insurance Research Institute, the insurance industry’s leading think tank, will begin this week. Within the industry, candidates from academia are being cited as strong contenders.

According to the financial sector on January 12, the Korea Insurance Research Institute will form a Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee and hold its first meeting on January 14. This comes about two weeks after the term of former President Ahn Cheolkyung ended at the end of last month. The committee was originally scheduled to convene on the 7th, but was postponed by a week due to scheduling conflicts among some committee executives.

Professor Kim Heonsu, former professor of IT Financial Management at Soonchunhyang University (left), and Professor Sung Juho of the Department of Business Administration at Kyung Hee University, who are being mentioned as candidates for the next president of the Korea Insurance Research Institute.

The recommendation committee consists of five life insurance companies (Samsung, Hanwha, Kyobo, AIA, and Chubb Life) and five non-life insurance companies (Samsung, DB, Meritz, Hanwha, and Lina). At the first meeting, they are expected to confirm the official start date for candidate applications. The committee aims to complete the candidate recruitment process by public announcement as early as this month, then conduct document screening and interviews with candidates next month. The final selection of the new president will be made through subsequent board and general meetings.

All of the current candidates being mentioned for the next president are from academia. Except for former President Ahn, all previous presidents of the Korea Insurance Research Institute have come from the Korea Development Institute (KDI) or have been university professors.

The leading candidate is Kim Heonsu, former professor of IT Financial Management at Soonchunhyang University. Professor Kim has served as a member of the Financial Development Deliberation Committee, president of the Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA), and president of the Korea Insurance Research Association. He is recognized for his broad understanding of the insurance industry, having served as chair of the Insurance Industry Supervisory Innovation Task Force at the Financial Supervisory Service, chair of the research advisory committee at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, and head of the Industry-Academia Insurance Research Center. During the last presidential election, he also served as co-vice chair of the financial division in the “Growth and Integration” policy think tank for Democratic Party candidate Lee Jaemyung.

Professor Sung Juho of the Department of Business Administration at Kyung Hee University is also frequently mentioned as a potential candidate. Professor Sung has served as president of the Korea Insurance Research Association, the Korea Pension Association, and the Korea Risk Management Association. He is recognized as an expert in insurance and pensions, having worked as an outside director at Shinhan Life and Korea Investment Trust Management.

While the Korea Insurance Research Institute has begun the process of selecting its next president following the completion of appointments at the financial authorities, other related organizations remain inactive. Heo Changun, president of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, completed his three-year term in November last year, but the recommendation committee has not yet been formed. A representative of the Korea Insurance Development Institute stated, “There is currently no scheduled plan.” Likewise, the Korea Fire Insurance Association has not yet formed a recommendation committee for its next chairman, even though Chairman Kang Younggu’s term ended at the end of last month.