The Kakao branch of the Korean Chemical, Textile, and Food Workers' Union (Kakao Union) announced on June 1 that it will embark on a four-hour partial strike and hold a rally at Pangyo Station Square in Gyeonggi Province on June 10. The labor union is strongly confronting the management, demanding accountability for repeated sell-offs, spin-offs, and restructuring across the Kakao Group, alongside a management-centric compensation structure.
The union's core demand centers on securing job stability by halting corporate restructuring triggered by what they define as continuous management failures. "We must reform the compensation system where executives monopolize overwhelming rewards despite causing employment insecurity through flawed decision-making," the union emphasized. While the upcoming strike is limited to four hours to minimize disruptions to core services like KakaoTalk, the union warned it could escalate its collective action depending on future negotiations.
Simultaneous Restructuring Across Subsidiaries
The restructuring criticized by the union is currently sweeping through multiple Kakao subsidiaries simultaneously:
AXZ (Portal Daum operator): Recently sold off.
Kakao Games: Witnessed a change in its largest shareholder.
DK Techin: Employees received layoff notices following the termination of a quality assurance (QA) contract with Kakao.
XL Games: Currently pushing forward with voluntary retirement and reassignment plans.
The union argues that the parent company, Kakao, holds ultimate responsibility for these shifts. "Kakao acts as the de facto employer but evades its responsibilities," stated Seung-wook Seo, head of the union branch. Industry insiders agree that the parent company’s influence remains paramount in subsidiary sell-offs and spin-offs.
Conflict Over Performance Pay and Executive Rewards
Beyond job security, the immediate bottleneck in wage negotiations lies in the introduction of profit-linked incentives and the inclusion of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) in the performance pay framework. The union demands a fixed percentage of operating profits be allocated for performance bonuses, but talks have completely stalled.
Management's Stance: In a statement released on May 29, Kakao expressed strong reluctance, stating, "The total scale of the performance compensation package demanded by the union places too heavy a financial burden on the company's management, considering our current operating profits."
With five corporate entities within the Kakao ecosystem having already secured the legal right to strike, no immediate breakthrough is in sight. Because each subsidiary faces a different stage of negotiations and distinct granular demands, industry experts predict prolonged friction even after the joint strike on June 10.
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