Korea Post Financial Services Deploys AI for Insurance Underwriting, Fraud Detection

Korea Post’s financial services arm, a government-owned entity, is accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence as it seeks to transform its operations. While its push for AI transformation (AX) comes later than those of private-sector financial firms, the move is expected to boost public welfare given Korea Post’s role as a public financial service provider.

The Korea Post headquarters has drawn up an AI transformation roadmap through a research project titled “Strategy for Building an AX Environment for Postal Insurance,” according to financial industry sources on Sunday. The study was conducted over three months from November last year, led by the Korea Post headquarters, the Postal Information Management Center and the Financial Development Institute.

The AX roadmap divides the AI adoption timeline into short-term (2027), mid-term (2028–2029) and long-term (2030 onward) phases, with specific initiatives assigned to each stage. Projects with high strategic value and strong feasibility are classified as short-term priorities for early implementation. The total budget is set at approximately 21.6 billion won ($15.9 million), comprising 18.7 billion won for short-term projects and 2.9 billion won for mid-term projects. Long-term initiatives are still under internal review and are not included in the budget.

AI adoption will span the full range of insurance operations, from customer service and sales to product development, policy applications, claims payment and fraud detection, asset management and digital IT systems. Under the plan, when insurance claim documents such as medical receipts are submitted, AI will classify and process them, review whether items are covered or non-covered under national health insurance, check policy terms and special provisions, and determine whether to approve or reject claims through automated underwriting.

The Insurance Fraud Detection System (IFDS) will also be upgraded with AI capabilities to predict insurance fraud and detect anomalies. AI-based premium calculation could significantly shorten product development and improvement cycles. Considering the manpower and time previously required, the system is estimated to enable at least two additional new products per year.