Kakao Labor and Management Fail to Reach Agreement... Union Announces "Strike Planned for Next Month" (Comprehensive)

Performance Bonus and RSU Agreement Fails; Headquarters Union Secures Right to Strike
Management Says, "We Will Keep Channels Open and Strive for Agreement"

Kakao is facing the risk of its first-ever general strike in the 20 years since its founding. This comes as the labor union has secured the right to take collective action after failing to reach an agreement with management over issues such as the performance-based pay structure. The Kakao union, which has already prepared for collective action, has announced plans to strike next month.

On the 27th, Kakao released a statement saying, "As a result of the second mediation meeting related to 2026 wage negotiations held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Commission, management and labor failed to reach an agreement, so the mediation has been suspended." With the suspension of mediation on this day, the Kakao union has secured the legal right to take collective action, including striking.

On the afternoon of the 27th, at the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Commission in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, Seungwook Seo, head of the Kakao labor union branch, is entering the mediation meeting room for the second labor-management mediation meeting of Kakao. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The labor and management at Kakao headquarters held nearly eight hours of negotiations during the second mediation meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Commission, starting at 3 p.m. on this day, but were unable to narrow their differences on key issues. Previously, after the first mediation session at the Gyeonggi labor commission on the 18th, both sides had postponed further talks until this date.

Given that the Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union had already held a strike vote in advance, the likelihood of Kakao's first general strike becoming a reality has increased. On the 20th, the Kakao union held a resolution meeting and announced that a strike vote among union members from five Kakao affiliates—Kakao, Kakao Enterprise, Kakao Pay, DK Techin, and XLGAMES—had passed in favor.

There is also the possibility that this strike could escalate into a joint general strike encompassing both the headquarters and its affiliates. Even before the headquarters, four affiliates had already secured the right to take collective action as mediation by the labor commission had also broken down for them.

A Kakao union official stated, "The strike is scheduled for next month," but added, "The specifics still need to be discussed." The union is expected to decide the timing, method, and scope of the collective action after internal discussions.

Kakao's labor and management are clashing over issues such as the compensation system and the size of performance-based pay. The union claims that while Kakao achieved record-high results last year and top management received substantial performance bonuses, employees were offered disproportionately lower bonuses. The union is reported to have demanded that 13–14% of Kakao's operating profit from last year be allocated as employee bonuses. In addition, the union has cited other sources of conflict, including the unilateral decision-making process by management, excessive working hours, inadequate response to workplace harassment allegations, and the forced consent for forensic investigations among employees.

The two sides also disagreed on whether to include Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of performance-based pay. Since last year, Kakao has been granting RSUs worth about 5 million won annually to all employees with at least one year of service, instead of stock options. Management believes these RSUs should be counted as part of performance-based pay, whereas the union argues that RSUs should be considered separate from bonuses.

A Kakao official stated, "Even after the mediation procedure, we will keep the lines of communication open with the labor union and continue to work toward an agreement."

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