Korean Re targets top three global ranking

Korean Re has unveiled an ambitious and wide-ranging vision that would see it become one of the world’s top three reinsurers.

Vision 2050 details the company’s ambitions and goals over the next 50 years. At the centre of its plans is its aim of becoming one of the top three reinsurers in the world. It is now the ninth biggest reinsurer.

The company has set up a three-stage roadmap with a specific set of goals for each stage. The year 2014 will be the very starting point for the implementation of the roadmap. This phase will include an immediate and determined push into the global markets.

The plan was unveiled by Jong-Gyu Won, the chief executive of Korean Re, to the company’s employees in early January. To achieve this top-three goal, he stated the company would require gross written premium of W106 trillion (£100 billion approx) and a net profit of W6.4 trillion.

This will also involve increasing its share of overseas business to 80 percent. This year, Korean Re will further drive its overseas expansion. It plans to increase the number of overseas branches and liaison offices to ten from the current seven (Singapore, London, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai). More offices will be switched into branches following its decision to turn the Beijing office into a branch in December 2013.

Won said, “Our competition has so far been predominantly with international reinsurers operating in Korea. But now we should brace ourselves up for a no-holds-barred global competition in a real sense of the word.”

He also said: “Vision 2050 will guide Korean Re to grow into a global reinsurer built upon a sound risk management philosophy and expertise. And domestically, it will help us continue to carry out the mission of supporting sustained development of our economy, industry and society.