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An increasing number of non-life insurers have been restructuring despite their positive performances in recent months. This is interpreted as a move to improve workforce structure to respond to rapidly changing management environments such as digital transformation.

KB Insurance recently introduced a voluntary retirement program, and 115 employees left the company through the program, according to industry officials on Sunday. This came after the company saw 101 employees retire through a similar program three years ago.

For the latest retirement program, the firm received applications from employees aged 45 and older with more than 10 years of service and employees with more than 20 years of service.

"We are aiming to make the organization younger, more dynamic and more active by hiring new employees," a KB Insurance official said.

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance introduced a similar program in June, and about 200 employees left the company, which accounts for about 7 percent of the total. This was the firm's first voluntary retirement program in nine years.

Notably, the program targeted younger employees as the firm received applications from those aged 30 or older.

In March, Hanwha General Insurance executed a similar program to enhance management efficiency.

Unlike banks that conduct voluntary retirement programs annually, insurance companies do not regularly implement such programs.

Particularly in the non-life insurance sector, where companies have been making positive results, the latest move is noted to be different from the usual ones initiated due to performance deterioration.

Last year, the net profits of the 31 non-life insurers in the country reached 8.26 trillion won ($6 billion), up 50.9 percent from a year earlier.

KB Insurance, which recently announced its second-quarter results, reported a record-high first-half net profit of 572 billion won.

"Voluntary retirement programs at non-insurance companies should be viewed not as cost-cutting measures, but as moves for organizational reform," an official from one of the major insurers said.

The expansion of the voluntary retirement programs to include younger employees in their 30s and 40s has also drawn attention, being interpreted as the firms' intention to recruit the talent they require.

The companies are expected to fill vacancies created by the restructuring with personnel specializing in digital, finance and investment areas for their gradual shift to the workforce structure better suited to digital transformation, along with organizational streamlining.

In the insurance industry, the importance of traditional sales departments has been diminishing due to the expansion of digital operations. Conversely, the importance of digital and finance-related roles is increasing.