Naver Union Formalizes Integrated Bargaining... "150 Negotiations a Year with 16 Affiliates Is Inefficient"

Proclamation Ceremony Scheduled for the 20th
Increased Labor and Organizational Management Costs for Companies

O Se-yoon, Chairman of the IT Committee of Hwaseom Food Workers' Union (Naver Branch Chief), speaking at the "Discussion Forum for Exploring an Integrated Negotiation Structure in the IT Industry" held on the morning of the 12th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Seo So-jung.

The Naver labor union has initiated efforts to pursue integrated bargaining that would encompass its subsidiaries. Starting with this forum at the National Assembly, the union plans to hold a declaration ceremony on the 20th, officially demanding integrated bargaining from management. This move is expected to send significant ripples through the IT industry.

The National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union (ChemFiber Food Union) and the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-woo held a "Forum on Exploring an Integrated Bargaining Structure for the IT Industry" at 10 a.m. on August 12 in Meeting Room 2 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, emphasizing the necessity for integrated bargaining. Integrated bargaining refers to conducting discussions related to wage agreements, incentives, and other matters that have previously been negotiated separately by the headquarters and subsidiary unions, now brought together at a single bargaining table.

This forum was organized to diagnose the structural contradictions and limitations arising from "headquarters-centric authority concentration" and "subsidiary-level bargaining," which have become apparent during the collective bargaining processes among IT corporate groups, including NAVER. The forum also aimed to explore whether integrated bargaining can serve as a legal and practical alternative.

O Se-yoon, Chairman of the IT Committee of the ChemFiber Food Union (and Head of the Naver Branch), stated, "Given the equity structure, composition of affiliate boards, and revenue dependencies, Naver, as the parent company, exerts substantial controlling power," adding, "The bargaining structure should be aligned with the fact that operations are already integrated in practice." He pointed out that currently, 16 corporate entities each conduct their own bargaining annually, resulting in about 150 rounds of negotiations and over 1,000 hours spent every year. When legal advisory fees for each affiliate are included, the costs and time spent become even more significant. The Naver branch plans to hold a declaration ceremony on the 20th to officially demand integrated bargaining from management and will publicly announce related agenda items.

This forum was chaired by Moon-ho Lee, head of the WorkIn Organization Innovation Institute. Participants included Taeuk Kim, attorney at the Public Transport Workers' Union Legal Center; Junhyeok Moon, professor at the Department of Law, Sungshin Women's University; Myungjun Park, senior research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute; Garam Song, head of the NC Union branch of the ChemFiber Food Union; and Dongho Lee, chairman of the Nonghyup Distribution Labor Union, among others.

Ohseong Kwon, professor at the Yonsei University Law School, commented, "Due to the structural characteristics of IT firms, service and development as well as business functions are dispersed among affiliate legal entities, but critical decisions regarding budgets, wage resources, compensation systems, artificial intelligence, and algorithm systems are centralized in the parent company (controlling company)." He further emphasized, "The responsibility for bargaining should be determined based on the actual distribution of authority regarding wage resources, personnel, evaluation, and compensation, not on the abstract unity of corporate groups."

Myungjun Park, senior research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, noted, "Through integrated bargaining, employers can reduce overall bargaining costs by minimizing the repetitive negotiations and adjustment processes that occur for each legal entity. Furthermore, establishing common principles applicable to affiliate companies makes comparisons and the management of conflicts between entities more stable."

Youngguk Lim, director of policy research at the ChemFiber Food Union, remarked, "Successfully establishing integrated bargaining at Naver could set a new milestone not only for the IT sector but also for labor-management relations in Korea, marking the beginning of the so-called 'Pangyo Model.'"

The labor community is closely watching Naver's move to implement integrated bargaining. An industry insider in the IT sector said, "If integrated bargaining becomes a reality, Naver, which is preparing to make large-scale infrastructure investments such as in AI factories, will likely face increased labor costs and greater challenges in organizational management. With the example of five Kakao subsidiaries joining the headquarters in collective labor action, it will be important to monitor how management responds to the union's demands for integrated bargaining moving forward."

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