SEOUL: Hanwha Life Insurance is betting on the blockchain as a core pillar of its next growth phase as it seeks to evolve from a traditional insurer into a global financial group, according to its chief global business officer Kim Dong-wook.
Rather than treating blockchains as a speculative technology play, the insurer sees them as financial infrastructure capable of reshaping cost structures across the industry.
“Hanwha Life envisions a future of finance in which blockchain technology securely safeguards customers’ assets and enables transactions with greater convenience,” Kim said in an email interview with The Korea Herald.
“Ultimately, future finance means lowering costs across the financial system and returning those benefits to customers,” he added.
Indonesia has emerged as a key market for translating that vision into practice.
South-East Asia’s largest digital economy had a financial inclusion rate of about 75% in 2024, according to official data, leaving roughly a quarter of its adult population unbanked or underbanked.
Hanwha Life this year acquired control of local lender Nobu Bank, becoming the first Korean insurer to gain control of a foreign bank.
Through its subsidiary Hanwha General Insurance, the group also controls Lippo General Insurance, expanding its footprint across Indonesia’s financial sector.
Kim added that the company aims to combine insurance and banking services in Indonesia to reach new customer segments while lowering barriers to financial access.
With a population of about 280 million and a government target to lift financial inclusion to 98% by 2045, the country offers both scale and policy alignment.
“If blockchain technology is applied to simplify procedures and reduce financial costs in Indonesia, the country could become a new case study in financial innovation in Asia,” Kim said, adding that Hanwha Life is discussing with Nobu Bank the long-term application of blockchain technology within the scope of local banking regulations.
Furthermore, the insurer’s focus on blockchain-linked financial infrastructure extends beyond South-East Asia. — The Korea Herald/ANN
