Kakao union stages four-hour strike and rally in South Korea over pay (updated)

Kakao

10/06/2026 08:01

Adds media report on new strike in paragraph 4, details on rally throughout
By Hongji Kim, Jungmin Ryu and Heejin Kim

    PANGYO, South Korea, June 10 (Reuters) - Unionised workers at South Korea's Kakao 035720.KS staged a four-hour strike and rally on Wednesday, demanding changes to the technology firm's bonus system as well as job security.
Hundreds of workers wearing black T-shirts and holding white umbrellas walked out of Kakao's office in the morning and marched to a rally at a nearby square in tech hub Pangyo, Gyeonggi province, which began with a live music performance.
The union had told police as many as 1,200 members would join the rally, which proceeded peacefully and ended at 3 p.m.
The union is also planning a general strike for June 29 in which all 5,000 members are set to participate, local media reported. A union representative did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment on the report.
Kakao employs about 6,000 people across five units.
The dispute at Kakao comes amid growing labour unrest in Asia's fourth-biggest economy as technology companies book record earnings amid a global AI boom. Samsung Electronics' 005930.KS union secured ⁠a ​deal this month tying chip division bonuses to ​10.5% of operating profit after proposing strikes.
Kakao, which operates South Korea's biggest messaging app by users, last month said it had failed to reach a wage deal with the union in government-mediated talks.
The union is seeking reform to Kakao's compensation system, arguing that executives have received increased bonus payments in recent years while other employees have seen limited benefits.
Kakao previously said it rejected a union demand for profit-sharing, calling it unrealistic. The union declined to confirm details on the negotiation.
The company has "a system that demands sacrifices from workers while allowing management to evade responsibility," Seo Seung-uk, a union leader, said on the podium during the rally.
Lee Heung-yeol, another union leader, said the firm had proposed restricted stock units (RSU) as a compensation program that gives employees Kakao shares if targets are achieved or depending on years of service.
The union opposed and instead sought one-off cash bonuses, Lee said at the rally.
The company in a statement on Wednesday said it is running a real-time system in response to the strike, and that management will continue to negotiate with the union.

 (Reporting by Heejin Kim, Hongji and Jungmin Ryu; Editing by Ed Davies and Christopher Cushing)
 ((Heejin.Kim@thomsonreuters.com;))