MetLife Asia Regional President Lyndon Oliver visited Seoul last week to engage with sales agents and reaffirm the company's commitment to the South Korean market.

According to the company on Monday, Oliver found the Seoul headquarters of the New York-based insurer, located in Gangnam-gu, where he took part in the “CEO Server’s Morning” event. Joined by MetLife Korea CEO Song Young-rok and other executives, Oliver helped serve breakfast to sales agents in a gesture meant to foster unity and boost morale.

“MetLife has maintained its leading position among foreign life insurers in Korea thanks to the expertise of its local planners, diversified sales channels, and a market-leading edge in digital innovation,” Oliver said during the visit.

The company aims to climb higher in the domestic rankings and break into the top five life insurers in Korea by 2029. To achieve that, it plans to focus on improving customer experience, expanding sales channels, offering specialized services and incorporating artificial intelligence, all while deepening ties with the local community.

MetLife Korea has consistently ranked among the top 10 life insurers in the country, placing sixth in 2023 with a net profit of 370.1 billion won ($259.2 million), following a steady growth in recent years. That same year, it ranked second among foreign life insurers, behind Lina Life Insurance.

Profit fell to 132.4 billion won last year, which the company described as a one-off decline linked to the change in accounting standards from IFRS 17 adoption.

The insurer noted that its stable operations are better reflected under the new framework through the contractual service margin — a key metric representing anticipated future profit from in-force insurance contracts — which climbed to 2.6 trillion won in 2024 from 2.15 trillion won a year earlier.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)