Union at South Korea's Kakao to hold partial strike on June 10 (updated)

Kakao

01/06/2026 02:11

Adds details and background in paragraph 2-9

    SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's Kakao Corp 035720.KS union said on Monday it will stage a four-hour strike and rally in Pangyo on June 10, demanding job security and reforms to a compensation system it says disproportionately rewards executives.

    In a statement, the union said its core demands include halting restructuring such as divestments and spin-offs and improving what it called an "executive-centric pay system" that fuels job insecurity.
  
The union said it could escalate industrial action depending on negotiations, while assuring it had no immediate plan for full-scale service disruption at the tech company.
The move comes after government-mediated wage talks broke down last week, with Kakao rejecting union demands — including profit-sharing proposals — as unrealistic and "a big burden" on management as it prioritises investment and shareholder returns.

    The union said executives continued to receive outsized compensation even as workers faced limited rewards and uncertainty tied to restructuring.
  
It has not disclosed detailed demands but has previously said one option discussed with management involved allocating about 10% of operating profit to worker bonuses.
Kakao has said compensation should align with its capacity to invest in future growth and compete with global AI-focused tech firms backed by significant capital. 
The company said it had no separate comment on the union's  announcement on Monday.
The dispute also follows a recent agreement at Samsung Electronics 005930.KS, where the union secured a deal tying chip division bonuses to 10.5% of operating profit after strike threats that could have disrupted the wider economy.

 (Reporting by Heejin Kim and Kyu-seok Shim
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((Kyu-seok.Shim@thomsonreuters.com;))