[Seongnam (Gyeonggi) = E-Daily Reporter Lee So-hyun] #Kakao’s labor union went on strike for the first time since the company’s founding, but users did not experience any noticeable service disruptions. As major platforms such as KakaoTalk and KakaoPay continued to operate normally, while some public sympathy was expressed for the union’s grievances, assessments suggest the strike’s actual impact was limited.

The Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union held a four-hour partial strike from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 10th. Approximately 1,500 employees participated across five companies, including Kakao headquarters, Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XL Games. At Kakao headquarters alone, about 1,000 employees took part.

The union held a rally near the Kakao Ajit in Pangyo that day and marched through the Pangyo Station area, demanding improvements to the wage and compensation systems. The number of participants at the on-site rally was estimated at 800 by the union and 500 by the police.

The Kakao union marched about 1 km from Pangyo Station Square to U-Space that afternoon, demanding improvements to the wage and compensation system. Union members wearing black T-shirts marched through the IT-dense area of Pangyo, holding signs with slogans such as “Secure Employment” and “Secure Collective Bargaining.”

A large-scale street march by an IT company union in Pangyo was an unusual sight. The procession caused traffic congestion in some areas, and office workers who had come out during their lunch break stopped to watch the rally.

“Unfair Compensation” vs. “Need to Consider Capacity for Future Investment”

The core of this conflict lies not in the wage increase rate but in the performance-based

compensation system

.

The union argues that there is a significant compensation gap between executives and employees. Park Seong-yeong, senior vice president of the Kakao branch, criticized the situation, stating, “While executive salaries increased by 30%, the raise for employees was only around 3%.”

On the other hand, it is reported that management accepted the union’s demand for a 6.9% annual salary increase and even proposed applying it for the next three years. However, negotiations have reached an impasse as differences remain unresolved regarding a clause for renegotiation in the event of profit fluctuations and the method of distributing Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).

Management believes that expanding cash-based compensation could weaken the company’s capacity for future investment, while the union argues that rewards for performance must be immediate and tangible.

The first strike carried great symbolic significance… but caused no inconvenience to users

This strike holds great

symbolic significance

as it is the first in Kakao’s history. However, given the nature of platform companies where service operations and a significant portion of work are automated and distributed, there was no impact noticeable to users.

The Ministry of Science and ICT conducted preemptive inspections, and Kakao’s Compliance and Trust Committee also requested that both labor and management minimize public inconvenience. It was reported that Kakao CEO Jeong Shin-ah also instructed the company to make every effort to ensure service stability.

Consequently, while the strike succeeded in raising public awareness of the union’s concerns, it is generally assessed as having failed to deliver a direct blow to the platform’s services.

Signs of

a Prolonged Labor-Management Conflict… Stock Price Also Under Pressure

The real challenge lies ahead. The union has announced a second strike on the 29th, planned as a “Log-off Day” where members will use their annual leave to log out of the work system. They have also left open the possibility of further collective action.

While the union is ramping up pressure by holding management accountable, the company is emphasizing its investment capacity and the sustainability of its compensation system, making it seem unlikely that a compromise will be reached in the short term.

There are also concerns that if the labor-management conflict drags on, organizational stability could be compromised and business uncertainty could increase. In fact, Kakao’s stock price fell more than 5% during trading today, hitting a year-to-date low of 37,400 won.

An industry insider stated, “Since strikes at platform companies do not have the same significant impact on production as those in manufacturing, the key ultimately lies in how much public opinion and internal consensus can be secured,” adding, “It is time for both labor and management to focus on finding practical solutions rather than fighting over who is right.”