Insurers rush to hire ex-financial bureaucrats to cope with policy changes
Major insurers are appointing a significant number of outside directors with government and financial oversight experience during their annual shareholder meetings this month, a move seen as a bid to navigate regulatory changes, industry officials said Thursday. The move comes as the revised Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, which introduces an accountability framework for financial firms, takes full effect this year. In addition, changes in accounting standards and other regulatory shifts have increased the need for close communication with financial authorities. Insurers are also preparing for potential policy shifts, caused by a change in administration amid the impending Constitutional Court ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment. During its shareholders meeting on Wednesday, Hanwha General Insurance appointed Yoo Kwang-yeol, former first senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), as a new outside director. Samsung Life Insurance plans to appoint Koo Yun-cheol, former minister of government policy coordination, as a new outside dir
