New Insurance Research Institute President Kim Heon-su said on the 1st that "consumer protection and inclusive finance are the core prerequisites for the sustainability of the insurance industry."
At a press briefing that day, Kim presented four key tasks: sound growth of the insurance industry; consumer protection and inclusive finance; responses to environmental changes including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital; and the settlement and innovation of the insurance system. This reflects a strategic direction to respond to the structural changes facing the insurance industry and to restore balance among soundness, profitability, and growth.
Kim pointed to structural problems within the market, including excessive competition centered on household-type insurance, along with weakening economic and demographic conditions and a high business expense burden. Kim said the insurance market, which has entered a mature stage, should identify new protection needs and social roles and expand into new growth areas.
Kim also stressed that, because insurance is an industry that operates on trust, it is important to minimize consumer harm caused by information asymmetry. In particular, Kim said the industry should strengthen responses to insurance fraud to protect good-faith policyholders and establish market order, while actively seeking ways to expand inclusive finance for groups insufficiently protected by existing systems, such as vulnerable groups, older adults, and the financially excluded.
Kim also emphasized the need for a preemptive response to environmental changes such as AI and digital. Kim noted that systematic and agile research is needed so the insurance industry can turn technological change into an opportunity while securing consumer trust and market stability. Kim also stressed the need to review supplementary measures so newly introduced systems can take root stably in the market, and to seek institutional improvements that can enhance market trust while reducing unnecessary regulatory expenses at the same time.
Kim said, "If the insurance industry faithfully carries out its roles in consumer protection and inclusive finance while securing both soundness and innovation, it will be able to contribute not only to sustainable growth but also to the stable development of our economy and society."