[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Kakao(035720) Management and labor at Kakao have reached a tentative agreement on this year’s wage negotiations. The labor-management conflict—which had escalated to Kakao’s first-ever partial strike and a “Logout Day” due to disagreements over the performance-based compensation system—is now on the verge of being resolved.

According to the IT industry on the 30th, Kakao and the Kakao Branch of the KCTU Textile, Food, and Chemical Workers’ Union (Crew Union) reached a tentative agreement on wage negotiations the previous day.

The Kakao union plans to hold a briefing for members next week and share the details of the tentative agreement around August 4. Afterward, a vote among union members will determine whether to accept the agreement. If a majority votes in favor, this year’s wage negotiations at Kakao headquarters will be finalized.

It is reported that the specific terms of the agreement—including the wage increase rate and performance bonuses—will not be disclosed until after the member briefing and the final ratification process.

The labor-management conflict at Kakao stemmed from differing positions on the performance-based compensation system. The union had demanded performance bonuses amounting to 13–14% of operating profit and a 6.9% annual salary increase. While management accepted the proposed salary increase and offered to apply it for the next three years, it maintained that the performance bonus demand would place a significant financial burden on the company.

As negotiations remained deadlocked, the Kakao union staged a four-hour partial strike on the 10th of last month—the first such action since the company’s founding. On the 29th of the same month, union members launched a “Logout Day,” during which they used their annual leave or took the day off and logged out of the company’s internal work systems. They subsequently escalated the pressure by holding picket protests on company premises.

While this tentative agreement has brought the labor-management conflict at Kakao’s headquarters to a resolution, labor-management risks across the entire Kakao group have not been fully resolved.

While Kakao Enterprise and kakaopay have finalized their agreements with management, KakaoBank Corp., DK Techin, and XL Games have yet to conclude their negotiations. In particular, the KakaoBank Corp. union has announced a full-day strike for the 31st, demanding reforms to the performance-based compensation system and the establishment of clear criteria for performance bonuses.