South Korea's Kakao says it fails to reach a pay deal with union (updated)

Kakao

27/05/2026 15:57

Adds detail on union members, paragraph 5
By Heejin Kim

    SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) - South Korean tech firm Kakao Corp 035720.KS said it has failed to reach a pay deal with its union after second-round negotiations mediated by the government on Wednesday. 
It added that it would continue to try to reach an agreement with the union.
A representative of the union said in a text message to Reuters after the talks that they will go on strike in June as planned.
Unionised workers at Kakao Corp and four affiliates, including headquarters, Kakao Pay Corp 377300.KS and Kakao Enterprise, previously voted to support a plan to go on strike.
The union has not confirmed how many of its members at Kakao Corp and four affiliates would participate in a strike. About 700 members attended a rally on May 20, a union leader said.
The union said in a statement earlier this month that management had offered "excessive bonuses" only to executives even as the company posted record revenue and profit in recent years.
The company also failed to address other issues, including overtime, and had not shown sincerity in negotiations with the union, it said.
Kakao said in a statement it had negotiated sincerely with the union for the 2026 wage deal but failed to reach agreement over the design of compensation structure.

 (Reporting by Heejin Kim; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Ed Davies)
 ((Heejin.Kim@thomsonreuters.com;))