On the 28th, the Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile and Food Industry Workers’ Union (the Kakao union) announced it will begin full-scale collective action, including a march around Pangyo Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 10th of next month. That morning, Kakao CEO Jeong Shin‑ah issued an internal notice apologizing for the company’s failure to resolve mounting concerns and uncertainty more quickly.
In the notice, Jeong acknowledged that protracted negotiations between labor and management have prolonged employees’ wait. She added that, although differences remain, the people who work at Kakao ultimately do so together and should move in the same direction.
The CEO pledged to step up efforts to listen to employees, resolve disputes through dialogue and rebuild unity across the company. Jeong called for establishing a stable operating framework, reframing service standards from a user perspective, and aligning the organization around a shared direction.
The day before, Kakao and the union continued mediation at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Commission until 11 p.m., but talks broke off without a deal.
Following the suspension of mediation, the headquarters union at Kakao secured the right to strike, joined by four affiliates: Kakao Enterprise, Kakao Pay, XL Games and DK Techin.
The Kakao union said it will not completely close the door to further talks, but that waiting and patience alone cannot resolve the issues. It announced it will actively prepare its members for a June strike.
The union accused the company of responding passively rather than making responsible decisions during the lengthy negotiations. It said trust was undermined when management unilaterally paid performance bonuses during the bargaining process, and that continuity in talks suffered because negotiators were changed repeatedly and proposed revisions were insufficient.
Addressing the controversy over a KakaoTalk update, the union directly criticized Chief Product Officer Hong Min‑taek, saying he “sparked negative debate over the update and prompted labor inspections, yet offered no explanation and then disappeared as if nothing had happened.”
The union also pointed to several executives who have faced controversy — including Kakao Pay CEO Ryu Young‑joon, Kakao CEO Hong Eun‑taek and Kakao Enterprise CEO Baek Sang‑yeop — and said the compensation they have received to date exceeds several tens of billions of KRW (tens of millions of USD).
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