Hanwha 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul (Hanwha Life)
Hanwha 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul (Hanwha Life)

Five years after spinning off its sales arm, Hanwha Life can hold up Hanwha Life Financial Services as proof that separating manufacturing and distribution can pay off. The unit has emerged as a major force in Korea’s general agency market through rapid gains in scale, profitability and sales quality.

Hanwha Life said Thursday that Hanwha Life Financial Services, launched as the industry’s first insurer-owned sales-only subsidiary, has expanded its agent force to more than 27,000 — up about 50 percent from its launch. Including agents at affiliated general agencies, or GAs, the total is nearing 35,000, with a target of 40,000 this year.

Earnings growth has been equally strong: Revenue surged more than sevenfold to nearly 2.5 trillion won ($1.7 billion) last year from 328 billion won in 2021, while annual net profit has remained above 100 billion won since the company turned profitable in 2023.

Hanwha Life said the split has also strengthened the parent insurer’s performance. Its annualized premium equivalent for new business more than doubled over the period, rising from 1.57 trillion won to 3.65 trillion won.

The company also pointed to improvements in sales quality. Its misselling ratio fell to 0.02 percent last year from 0.05 percent in 2021, well below the 0.07 percent average among Korea’s top 30 GAs, according to Hanwha Life.

Agent earnings have also climbed sharply. Average annual pay doubled to 84.4 million won from 42.21 million won, significantly higher than the industry average of 55.6 million won, based on data from the Korea Life Insurance Association. The number of agents earning more than 100 million won annually reached 5,600 last year.

Hanwha Life Financial Services said its gains in both scale and quality helped it become the first GA in Korea to secure an A+ corporate credit rating with a stable outlook in December 2024. The company also noted consistently strong evaluations in the Financial Supervisory Service’s internal control assessments.

Looking ahead, the firm said it plans to strengthen consumer protection and further refine its “complete sales” process, aiming to shift from scale-driven competition to a trust-based platform model.

“We will continue to set a new standard for consumer protection and ethical management as a leading company in the GA industry,” Chief Executive Choi Seung-young said.


jwc@heraldcorp.com