Kakao CEO Junsin A Apologizes Amid Strike Threat: "Sorry for Failing to Address Concerns and Uncertainties"

Apology to Employees on Internal Bulletin Board
"We Have Not Bridged Our Differences... Will Unite Through Dialogue"
Organizational Restructuring Announced
Product Organization to be Divided into Two Entities

As Kakao faces a strike crisis due to a breakdown in wage negotiations between labor and management, CEO Sungsin A has issued an apology to employees. The company also released a plan for organizational restructuring to refocus KakaoTalk around user needs.

According to Kakao on May 28, CEO A posted a notice on the company’s internal bulletin board that morning, stating, “I sincerely apologize for not being able to quickly resolve the various concerns and uncertainties,” and bowed her head in apology.

Sungsin A, CEO of Kakao. Kakao

CEO A said, “As the negotiations drag on, I fully recognize that the wait has also been prolonged for all crew members,” adding, “Although we have not sufficiently narrowed the differences between our positions, we are ultimately crew members working together at Kakao, moving in the same direction.”

She continued, “I will strive to listen more to each other’s voices, resolve our differences through dialogue, and work even harder so that we can unite as one Kakao again.”

The previous day, during the second mediation meeting regarding 2026 wage negotiations held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Relations Commission, labor and management at Kakao failed to narrow their differences, leading to a decision to end mediation. As a result, the union has obtained the right to take industrial action, opening the possibility of the first strike in Kakao’s history. The union plans to discuss internally the timing and methods of the strike and then decide on the level of collective action.

In the same notice, CEO A also released a restructuring plan for the product organization. According to the plan, the existing product organization will be split into two: “KakaoTalk” and “Business.” Hong Min-taek, Kakao’s Chief Product Officer (CPO), who had been leading the product organization, expressed his intention to resign the previous day and is currently in the process of leaving the company.

Explaining the purpose of the organizational restructuring, CEO A said, “It is time for the company to establish a stable system at the corporate level, redefine standards from a service perspective, and align our direction together.”

A new task force (TF) dedicated to user-centric service operations will also be established. The “User First TF” will be launched to strengthen communication with users and raise the overall quality of services. In addition, the previously dispersed design teams will be consolidated into a single organization to enhance both the expertise of each area and collaborative synergy.

A Kakao spokesperson explained, “The detailed organizational restructuring will proceed gradually.”

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