In first public speech, Hanwha Life chief urges expanded investment, digital finance collaboration with UAE
Hanwha Life Insurance President and Chief Global Officer Kim Dong-won called for stronger financial cooperation between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Monday, in his opening remarks at Abu Dhabi Finance Week’s Global Markets Summit to underscore decades of expanding bilateral ties.
“Korea and the UAE have steadily broadened the scope of their cooperation since establishing diplomatic ties in 1980,” Kim said. “As a financial institution, Hanwha Life will take the lead in extending those bilateral ties into the next generation and toward a centurylong partnership.”
Hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADFW is one of the Middle East’s largest annual financial gatherings, bringing together finance leaders, investors, policymakers and industry specialists from more than 100 countries to discuss global trends and shape cross-border dialogue. The Global Markets Summit, introduced this year, examines structural shifts in global capital markets and maps the emerging direction of cross-border capital networks.
Monday’s appearance marked Kim’s first public speech — a rare move for the second son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, who has largely kept a low profile until now.
“Korea and the UAE are both capable of turning risks into opportunities, are unafraid of change, and share a mindset that values long-term, trust-based relationships,” Kim said. “With finance acting as the catalyst that converts willingness to cooperate into opportunity, and as the core that powers industry and innovation, it will play a pivotal role in sustaining and deepening ties between the two countries.”
Abu Dhabi’s advanced market infrastructure provides a foundation for the two countries to build a new financial ecosystem, Kim stressed, projecting that future collaboration will widen across key areas including joint investment in real assets, supply-chain finance, cross-border payment infrastructure and digital-asset platform development.
Reaffirming Hanwha Life’s commitment to working closely with the UAE, particularly as the two economies transition toward next-generation finance, Kim said, “I hope the journey that Abu Dhabi and Korea will build together becomes a global reference point for the future of finance.”
Hanwha Life is Korea’s second-largest life insurer by net profit, posting 770 billion won ($524 million) in cumulative earnings in the first three quarters of 2025 and a contractual service margin approaching 9 trillion won. Under Kim’s leadership, the company is pushing to evolve into a global comprehensive financial group, expanding its footprint beyond insurance to banking through Nobu Bank in Indonesia and brokerage through Velocity Clearings in the US.
As president of Hanwha Life, Kim oversees the financial arms collectively referred to as “Hanwha Finance,” which include the life insurer, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Asset Management and Hanwha Investment & Securities. The four Hanwha subsidiaries attended this year’s ADFW as the event’s premier partners.
Marking its fourth edition since its 2022 launch, this year’s forum is held under the theme “Engineering the Capital Network” and explores how new technologies and evolving financial infrastructures are reshaping traditional capital flows.
jwc@heraldcorp.com