Kyobo Life Insurance has absorbed and merged with its internet-based life insurance subsidiary, KYOBO LIFEPLANET Life Insurance (hereinafter KYOBO LIFEPLANET Life Insurance).
The two companies held board meetings on the 15th and approved the merger plan. They will proceed with procedures, including approval from financial authorities, with the merger targeted for completion in April next year.
The merger was pursued amid strengthened capital soundness regulations, including the introduction of the new accounting standard IFRS 17 and the Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS). The companies determined that a digital life insurer focused on short-term, small-value, and savings-type insurance would face structural limitations in independently securing its future earnings base—its contractual service margin (CSM)—and maintaining its K-ICS ratio. The group also decided to consolidate its capabilities as large-scale capital investment became essential in the AI era.
KYOBO LIFEPLANET Life Insurance, launched in 2013 as Korea’s first digital life insurer, has built an online, non-face-to-face environment where customers can purchase insurance, maintain policies, and file claims without going through an insurance agent. As of the end of June, it had approximately 230,000 customers, total assets of 527.3 billion won, insurance revenue of 9.1 billion won in the first half of this year, and a solvency ratio (K-ICS) of 162.97%.
Through the newly established Lifeplanet Business Division, Kyobo Life Insurance plans to embed KYOBO LIFEPLANET Life Insurance’s innovative DNA across its insurance operations, including product development and marketing. It will also use the existing brand and both companies’ customer bases to strengthen services tailored to each stage of customers’ lives. During the integration, existing customers’ apps, websites, contracts, and services will remain stable, while system integration will proceed in stages.
A Kyobo Life Insurance official said, "After the regulatory environment in the insurance industry changed, the board discussed the best ways to fulfill our commitment to customer protection on multiple occasions and ultimately decided on the absorption merger." The official added, "By combining KYOBO LIFEPLANET Life Insurance’s digital expertise, innovation, and agility with Kyobo Life Insurance’s insurance business capabilities, we will provide customers with better products and services."
Sohyung Kim compact@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
