Capital soundness looms over major insurers' CEO reappointment decisions

With the terms of major insurers’ CEOs set to expire early next year, the companies’ capital strength is emerging as a key factor in their chances of reappointment, particularly as new rules requiring insurers to hold stronger financial cushion against losses are set to take effect in 2027, industry officials said Wednesday. The terms of Samsung Life Insurance CEO Hong Won-hak, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance CEO Lee Mun-hwa, DB Insurance CEO Jeong Jong-pyo and Kyobo Life Insurance co-CEO Cho Dae-kyu are all due to expire in March. All four companies reported higher consolidated net profit in the first half of this year. Samsung Life posted 1.97 trillion won, followed by Samsung Fire & Marine with 1.37 trillion won, DB Insurance with 979.6 billion won and Kyobo Life with 704.8 billion won. But their capital positions showed a more mixed picture. The Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) ratio, which measures an insurer’s financial ability to cover its liabilities and risks, rose at Samsung Fire & Marine in the second quarter to 282.8 percent, but fell at the other three — Sa