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 Sectors
Selection Delays at Korea Insurance Development Institute and Korea Fire Insurance Association

This week marks the beginning of the process to select the next head of the Korea Insurance Research Institute, the think tank of the insurance industry. 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 the Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee and hold its first meeting on January 14. This comes about two weeks after the term of President Ahn Cheolkyung ended at the end of last month. The committee originally planned to meet on January 7, but the meeting 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 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 finalize the starting date for the open recruitment. The plan is to complete the candidate recruitment through a public announcement as early as this month, and to conduct document screening and candidate interviews next month. The next president will be appointed through subsequent board and general meetings.

Currently, all candidates being mentioned for the next presidency come from academia. With the exception of President Ahn, all previous heads of the Korea Insurance Research Institute have been professors or from the Korea Development Institute (KDI).

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 Association. He is recognized for his broad understanding of the insurance industry, having also served as chairman of the Insurance Industry Supervisory Innovation Task Force at the Financial Supervisory Service, chairman 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 was also co-vice chairman of the finance division for "Growth and Integration," the policy think tank for Democratic Party candidate Lee Jaemyung.

Seong Juho, professor of business administration at Kyung Hee University, is also frequently mentioned as a candidate. Professor Seong has served as president of the Korea Insurance Association, the Korea Pension Association, and the Korea Risk Management Association. He is regarded as an expert in the insurance and pension sectors, having also worked as an outside director for Shinhan Life and Korea Investment Trust Management.

Although appointments at the financial authorities have been completed and the Korea Insurance Research Institute is now moving forward in earnest with the process of selecting its next president among related insurance institutions, the Korea Insurance Development Institute has yet to take any action. Although Heo Changun, president of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, completed his three-year term in November last year, the candidate recommendation committee has not yet been formed. A representative from the Korea Insurance Development Institute stated, "There is currently no scheduled plan." The Korea Fire Insurance Association is in a similar situation; although Chairman Kang Younggu's term ended at the end of last month, the candidate recommendation committee for the chairman has not yet been established.