Kakao Strike Unlikely to Disrupt KakaoTalk, but AI Business Initiatives Face Setbacks

Second Mediation Meeting Scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on May 27
Limited Impact on Services Even in the Event of a Strike
Prolonged Dispute May Disrupt New AI Business Initiatives

As Samsung Electronics' labor and management reached a last-minute agreement on wage negotiations just before the launch of a general strike, attention is now turning to Kakao, which faces its first-ever strike crisis since its founding.

Kakao's labor and management will hold a second mediation meeting at 3:00 p.m. on May 27. After the first mediation session held by the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission on May 18, both sides agreed to postpone the mediation date and are continuing discussions to reach an amicable settlement. If labor and management are unable to reach an agreement on the 27th, the union plans to proceed with procedures to secure the legal right to strike.

Kakao headquarters has already conducted a strike vote in advance. The Kakao chapter of the National Chemical & Food Industry Labor Union announced at a rally held on May 20 at Pangyo Station Square in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, that all five affiliates—Kakao, Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XL Games—had voted in favor of a strike in a vote among union members. However, a Kakao union official stated, "We have not yet formulated any plans for industrial action," adding, "No specific strike plan has been decided."

Even if the Kakao union does proceed with an actual strike, the likelihood that KakaoTalk's message delivery or Kakao Pay’s money transfer services will stop remains low. Unlike manufacturing industries such as semiconductors, where a production line halt directly affects output, IT platform services can be maintained with a minimum number of personnel. Essential work such as server maintenance for stable service is possible through automated systems, essential staff, and non-union employees. Therefore, the industry view is that services like KakaoTalk and Kakao Pay would not be significantly affected.

Yonhap News Agency

An industry insider commented, "Even if the union goes on a full-scale strike, there will not be a service outage," adding, "When Kakao Mobility had a two-hour partial strike last year, there was no disruption to the service."

However, if the strike is prolonged, it could disrupt the pace of new AI business initiatives. This is because a strike could lead to the departure of key development personnel and delay the service development schedule. Kakao is currently focusing on developing AI-centered services, such as integrating AI agents into KakaoTalk. As this would be the first full-scale strike in the IT platform industry, the impact on external credibility is also considered inevitable.

Meanwhile, the causes of conflict between Kakao's labor and management lie in compensation policies such as performance bonuses and the scale of payments. The union argues that, although Kakao recorded its highest-ever performance last year and major executives received large performance bonuses, employees were offered disproportionately lower bonuses. Additional sources of conflict cited by the union include the company's unilateral decision-making process, excessive working hours, inadequate response to workplace harassment allegations, and forced forensic consent from employees. The union is demanding improvements to the entire compensation system, including greater transparency in compensation standards, a fairer performance distribution structure, and better rewards for long-term service.

There is also disagreement between labor and management over whether Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) should be included as part of performance bonuses. Since last year, Kakao has been granting RSUs worth 5 million won annually to all employees with at least one year of service, instead of stock options. Management believes this should be considered part of the performance bonus, while the union maintains that RSUs are separate from performance bonuses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.