Woori Financial Group Restructures Insurers, Eyes Growth in Non-Banking Sector

Woori Financial Group is implementing strategic changes within its insurance subsidiaries, Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance, following their acquisition from China’s Dajia Insurance Group in July 2025. These changes focus on strengthening internal operations, enhancing sales capabilities, and accelerating growth in the non-banking sector to achieve a 20% contribution to overall profits.

Strategic Appointments and Organizational Changes

Tongyang Life Insurance has appointed Seong Dae-kyu, head of Woori Financial Group’s acquisition team, as its new representative [1]. ABL Life Insurance has appointed Kwak Hee-pil as its new representative [1]. The group has prioritized internal unity by selecting sales leadership from within Tongyang Life Insurance, appointing Executive Director Moon-kyung Hwang as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) – a newly created position overseeing company-wide sales strategies, including field consultants (FC) and business-to-business (B2B) initiatives.

To support database (DB) sales, the Marketing Headquarters has been upgraded, establishing a new DB Operation Team and Marketing Team (formerly the CXM Team). This restructuring reflects a commitment to bolstering internal expertise and streamlining decision-making processes. The executive position system was streamlined, reducing tiers from six to three – President, Vice President, and Managing Director – to improve efficiency.

Focus on Profitability and Synergy

Woori Financial Group aims to increase the proportion of profits from its non-banking operations to around 20% in 2025, up from 9.5% in the previous year [2]. The group’s long-term goal is to reach 30%. With the addition of Tongyang Life and ABL Life, Woori now has a comprehensive portfolio encompassing banking, securities, and insurance, following its entry into the securities business with the launch of Woori Investment Securities in August 2024 [2].

While bancassurance has expanded significantly (from 9.8% to 22.2% at the finish of the first half of 2024), Woori recognizes the need to strengthen the core sales capabilities of Tongyang Life and ABL Life to drive sales of higher-margin protection insurance products and improve Contractual Service Margin (CSM) under the new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS17).

Leadership Changes at GA Subsidiaries

Personnel changes have also occurred at the insurance companies’ General Agency (GA) subsidiaries. Ahn Seong-jin was appointed CEO of Tongyang Life Insurance Financial Services, and Seo Jeong-hyuk was named CEO of ABA Financial Services, ABL Life Insurance’s GA subsidiary.

Integration of AI and Data Technologies

Woori Financial Group is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies into insurance underwriting and claims processes. Tongyang Life Insurance has established an AI and data team under the Customer IT division and implemented an AI conversion (AX) control tower, aligning with Woori Financial Group’s broader AX master plan for all subsidiaries.

Woori Financial Group completed its $1.16 billion acquisition of Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance from Dajia Insurance Group in August 2024 [3].