The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday issued an “institutional caution” against Heungkuk Life Insurance for glossing over irregular practices at a sales branch.

“While the Heungkuk branch attracted policyholders via unauthorized practices, the headquarters did not take any disciplinary action despite internal detection,” an FSS official said.

Ultimately, the headquarters suffered losses worth 1.22 billion won ($1.1 million) ― as extra costs for resolving unfair contracts between the branch and policyholders.

The FSS also penalized two officials of Heungkuk Life by issuing one a “salary reduction” and the other a “reprimand.”

Heungkuk is one of the few financial firms to have frequently been subject to regulatory sanctions.

(kys@heraldcorp.com)