{"id":260123,"date":"2026-05-12T00:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/12\/kakao-union-plans-major-strike-what-led-to-the-breakdown-in-wage-negotiations\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T00:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:06:15","slug":"kakao-union-plans-major-strike-what-led-to-the-breakdown-in-wage-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/social\/2026\/05\/12\/kakao-union-plans-major-strike-what-led-to-the-breakdown-in-wage-negotiations\/","title":{"rendered":"Kakao Union Plans Major Strike: What Led to the Breakdown in Wage Negotiations?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Translation result.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Kakao\u2019s
\n Kakao\u2019s Pangyo hub in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province [Yonhap]
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

By Oh Doo-hwan, The Public. The Kakao union announced it will stage collective action on the 20th. The union says this year\u2019s wage negotiations collapsed not over a simple demand for bonuses but because grievances have accumulated around the company\u2019s compensation system, workplace conditions and management\u2019s decision-making practices.<\/p>\n

On the 11th, the Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile and Food Industry Workers\u2019 Union said wage talks this year finally broke down across five corporate entities \u2014 Kakao, Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin and XL Games. The union has filed for mediation with the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Relations Commission.<\/p>\n

The union rejected the company\u2019s claim that the talks collapsed solely over bonus demands. It said the company\u2019s \u201c10% of operating profit\u201d bonus proposal was only one of several options discussed during intensive negotiations.<\/p>\n

Union leaders said the core problem is how management allocates rewards. Despite strong corporate performance for years, the compensation reaching rank-and-file employees has been limited. The union described this as management\u2019s exclusive capture of gains.<\/p>\n

Workplace conditions also emerged as a major grievance. The union cited excessive working hours, inadequate responses to alleged workplace harassment and coercing employees to consent to forensic examinations as key sources of conflict.<\/p>\n

The Kakao union said, \u201cThe failure of the talks is not attributable to a single issue of performance bonuses; it is the result of management repeatedly making unilateral decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The union plans to hold a rally on the 20th at the plaza outside Pangyo Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. There it will demand reforms at Kakao, call for broad workplace protections and begin coordinated labor action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kakao union plans collective action on the 20th, citing unresolved wage negotiations and dissatisfaction with management decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2024-0005\/thumb-393d2377-b765-42bc-8cf9-cebad8f8e9c2.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social"],"yoast_head":"\nKakao Union Plans Major Strike: What Led to the Breakdown in Wage Negotiations?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kakao union plans collective action on the 20th, citing unresolved wage negotiations and dissatisfaction with management decisions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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