Korean Re declared Vision 2050, looking ahead to its next 50 years

Vision 2050 highlights Korean Re's ambition to become one of the top 3 reinsurers in the world. 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, and a strong push will be made to tap further into the global markets.

CEO Jong-Gyu Won of Korean Re, the world's 9th largest reinsurer, unveiled Vision 2050 in the presence of all employees of the company on January 2, 2014 at the head office in Seoul. He stated that the new vision, "Value-Creating Reinsurance Leader" encapsulated the company's desire to become a globally prominent provider of reinsurance solutions and services. Specifically, Korean Re aims to join the ranks of the global top 3 reinsurers by 2050, with a gross written premium of KRW 106 trillion and a net profit of KRW 6.4 trillion. It also targets to increase the share of its overseas business to 80% so as to become a household name in the global reinsurance market.

The new vision reflects the company's recognition that expanding into overseas markets should be an essential course of action in the face of challenges such as local economic slowdown and limited potential of the domestic commercial insurance sector, which has been one of the main lines of its reinsurance business.

Under Vision 2050, the three-stage roadmap has been created with specific goals assigned to each stage (for details, please refer to the attachment). 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.

Mr. 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."

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