Kyobo Life net profit rises 9.2% despite weaker core business

Insurance profit for the year also dropped 17.3%.

Kyobo Life reported a net profit of $0.5b (KRW763.2b) for the 2025 fiscal year, a 9.2% year-on-year increase.

This growth reversed a downward trend seen earlier in the year, though the recovery was attributed to lower associate impairment losses rather than improvements in core operations.

These losses fell to $0.1b (KRW119b) in 2025, compared to $0.2b (KRW279b) in 2024.

Insurance profit for the year dropped 17.3% to $0.3b (KRW391.6b).

Whilst service income rose by 8.4%, it was offset by an 11.8% increase in insurance service expenses, which reached $2.7b (KRW4.0t).

The primary factors behind this decline included the recognition of onerous contracts and adverse changes to actuarial assumptions.

Meanwhile, investment profit remained nearly unchanged at $0.5b (KRW670.0b) as rising expenses cancelled out income gains.

Looking forward, the company’s performance will be monitored based on the stability of its actuarial assumptions and the performance of its associate subsidiaries, according to CreditSights.

Another key factor will be the pace at which regulatory relief for lapse risks is reduced.

($1.00 = KRW1,479.4)