Kakao's (035720.KS) labor union, having secured the legal right to industrial action, will launch a partial strike on Jan. 10. If the union proceeds with collective action, it will mark the first headquarters-level strike since Kakao's founding.
The Kakao chapter of the Korean Federation of Chemical, Textile and Food Workers' Union (Crew Union) announced in a statement Wednesday that it will hold a four-hour partial strike along with a rally in front of the Pangyo office building on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
"The company must halt the sales, spin-offs and restructuring caused by continued management failures and secure employment stability," the union said, outlining its key demands. "It is also urgent to reform the compensation system centered on executives who have monopolized overwhelming rewards while triggering job insecurity through misguided decisions."
The union plans to begin with a four-hour partial strike, taking into account the public inconvenience that an immediate full-scale walkout would cause by disrupting major services such as KakaoTalk, before escalating the action depending on the course of negotiations.
Earlier, Kakao's labor and management entered a second round of mediation at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission last month over issues including the wage increase rate and performance bonus structure, but ultimately failed to reach an agreement. As a result, the union received a decision to suspend mediation, granting it the legal authority to engage in industrial action.
