Kyobo Life chief honored for ethical entrepreneurship at Geneve Forum

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO and Chairman Shin Chang-jae's ethical business practices received global recognition at the Geneve Entrepreneurship Forum on Thursday.

The leading life insurer in South Korea said Monday that Shin was awarded the Global Ethics & Stakeholder Commitment Award at the annual entrepreneurship forum held at the International Labor Organization headquarters in Geneva.

Each year, the International Council of Small Business gathers distinguished entrepreneurs, legislators and researchers from around the world to celebrate Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day on June 27. This year's festivities were held in the cities of Fribourg and Geneva in Switzerland.

The forum newly established the Global Ethics & Stakeholder Commitment Award this year to honor global business leaders who have achieved social justice through ethical and stakeholder-centered management. Shin was nominated as South Korea's candidate and named the inaugural winner by a panel of judges.

In presenting the award, Winslow Sargeant, the head of the judges' panel and the immediate past chair of ICSB, highlighted Shin's global recognition as an entrepreneur leading social justice through his years of efforts to practice management that fosters the joint development of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders and the local community.

"Our journey for ethical entrepreneurship is still ongoing," Shin said in his video message. "I am confident that for a company to achieve greater success, it needs to move beyond passive ethical management, which merely complies with laws and regulations, and engage in active ethical management that benefits all of its stakeholders."

As the eldest son of Kyobo Life founder Shin Yong-ho, Shin Chang-jae transitioned from a medical professor to an entrepreneur in 1996 when he joined the life insurer as vice chair. In 2000, he assumed the CEO position and has since engaged in various social contribution activities and practiced robust environmental, social and governance management.