Shin Chang-Jae

Shin Chang-Jae was born on 1953 in Seoul, South Korea, South Korea, is Kyobo Life Insurance. Shin Chang-Jae was a practicing obstetrician and a professor at Seoul National University when he joined Kyobo Life Insurance in 1996, as his father, Shin Yong-Ho, was undergoing cancer treatment. The elder Shin had founded the company (formerly known as Daehan Kyoyuk Insurance Co. ) in 1958. When the younger Shin became chairman and CEO in 2000, it was reeling from investment portfolio losses in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. He turned the company around by focusing on customer satisfaction and risk control. Through an extensive distribution network of agents and financial planners, the company offers insurance and asset-management products to more than 5 million customers. Shin, who maintains a busy schedule of public speeches and lectures, is known for his management acumen and commitment to helping others. He also has a mischievous penchant for staging stunts to make a point, such as reportedly taking part in his own fake funeral. "When it comes to encouraging his employees," the company notes on its website, "Mr. Shin never gets tired of transforming himself into stunning figures: an aproned waiter, a chef in uniform, and a singer playing guitar at charity meetings organized by his employees." In 2010, he received the 19th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award for his support of Korean literature through the Daesan Foundation, established under the auspices of Kyobo Life Insurance by his father. To encourage young readers, Shin Yong-Ho also established, in 1980, what has become perhaps the most famous bookstore in Korea -- the Kyobo Book Center at the insurer's headquarters building in Gwanghwamun, in downtown Seoul.
Shin Chang-Jae is a member of Finance