Kakao Union Takes to the Streets with Umbrellas... "Another Strike on the 29th" (Comprehensive)

Unions at Five Kakao Affiliates, Including Headquarters and KakaoPay, Hold Four-Hour Partial Strike
About 1,500 Union Members Join Strike, March Through Pangyo Area
Union: "Annual Leave Protest on the 29th...Aiming for Full Member Participation"

The Kakao labor union began its first-ever strike since the company's founding on June 10. Approximately 1,500 union members participated in the strike, while major services such as KakaoTalk and Kakao Pay continued to operate without disruption. The union is planning to strike again on the 29th of this month.

The Kakao Branch of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union (Kakao Union) launched a partial strike from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. Excluding the one-hour lunch break, the actual strike lasted four hours. The participating Kakao entities included the Kakao headquarters, Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XL Games, totaling five companies.

The Kakao labor union, which has entered a partial strike, is marching on the 10th from Kakao Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province to the Uspace Plaza. Photo by Yonhap News

At 10 a.m., when the partial strike began, union members wearing black group T-shirts with the slogan "Solidarity Struggle, Together Crew Union" could be seen scattered around the Kakao Pangyo Ajit, where the Kakao headquarters is located. As the scheduled rally time of 11:30 a.m. approached, union members started gathering at Pangyo Station Plaza in front of the building. The plaza echoed with protest songs, while the union leadership distributed pickets, white umbrellas, snacks, and other rally materials to the members. A coffee truck prepared by the union for attending members was also noticeable on one side of the plaza.

During the day, the union chanted slogans such as "Job Security Now" and "Step Down, Management" while marching through the Pangyo area. They marched from Pangyo Station Plaza to H Square, passing by IT companies located in the Pangyo district, including XL Games, Webzen, and NC. The union then held a resolution rally at the H Square plaza.

The union stated that about 800 people attended the on-site rally, and around 1,500 participated in the partial strike. The police estimated that approximately 500 people took part in the march as of noon that day.

Union: "Another Strike on 'Logoff Day' Scheduled for the 29th…We Won't Stop"

Members of the Kakao Branch of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union are attending the "Kakao Strike Victory Rally" held on the morning of the 10th near H Square in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Myunghwan Lee

The union plans another strike on the 29th of this month. Seungwook Seo, head of the Kakao Branch, announced at the rally, "On the 29th, we will hold a Logoff Day, aiming for full participation of all union members." Logoff Day is a form of annual leave protest, where members either use their annual leave or refrain from starting work. Kakao operates a flexible work system that allows employees to set their own working hours.

According to the Kakao union, there are about 5,000 union members across all Kakao affiliates. The union intends to encourage everyone to participate in Logoff Day.

The Kakao union plans to escalate collective action until management actively engages in negotiations. Seo stressed, "We will not stop until our demands are accepted, until management gives a responsible answer, and until we create a Kakao community where workers are respected."

The labor and management sides failed to narrow their differences during the second mediation meeting for the 2026 wage negotiations, held at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission (GRLC) on May 27. Following the breakdown of negotiations, the union repeatedly issued statements blaming the current situation on irresponsible management conduct. The union at Kakao headquarters said that after the GRLC issued its mediation decision, they held another round of negotiations with management.

The background of the conflict between Kakao labor and management lies in the performance bonus structure. The labor and management sides at Kakao headquarters remain divided on the scale of performance bonuses and whether to include 5 million won worth of restricted stock units (RSUs) as part of the bonuses. The union is demanding a performance bonus equivalent to about 13–14% of operating profit and insists that RSUs should not be counted as part of the performance bonus. Management, however, claims that these union demands would place a burden on company operations.

No Disruption to Kakao Services…IT Industry Closely Watching

Kakao Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Despite the strike, services such as KakaoTalk are operating normally. According to Kakao, essential maintenance work for stable service operation, such as server management, is handled by automated systems, essential personnel, and non-union employees.

A Kakao representative stated, "We have established the necessary response systems to prevent any inconvenience to users and will do our utmost to ensure stable service operation. In preparation for emergencies, we will set up real-time response systems to minimize any potential service impact during collective action and organize minimum response staff." Kakao CEO Shin-Ah Jung also reportedly emphasized the importance of doing everything possible to prevent service disruptions at related meetings.

The government has also responded. Since services such as KakaoTalk, Kakao Map, and Kakao Pay are closely tied to daily life, authorities are preparing for possible service disruptions. On June 8, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a meeting with Kakao to discuss measures for stable service operation and emergency response systems.

IT and gaming companies that have already completed wage negotiations are also keeping a close eye on Kakao's situation. Issues regarding employee compensation could become a major topic in next year's labor talks. On May 11, Naver labor and management reached a tentative agreement to raise this year’s wages by 5.3%. Major game companies such as Nexon and NC concluded their wage and collective bargaining agreements early on. Hancom also announced that it reached an early settlement of the 2026 wage and collective bargaining agreement with its labor union on June 10.

An industry insider from the gaming sector commented, "Since union activity is now well established, similar conflicts could arise at any time if necessary. There is also the risk that the huge success of a particular game could lead to disputes over the fairness of profit sharing."

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