South Korea tech giant Kakao Corp. hit by first labor strike PHOTO

Unionised employees at Kakao Corp. staged their first-ever walkout on Wednesday, June 10, demanding higher bonuses and an expanded profit-sharing scheme.

The strike, accompanied by a rally, took place near the company’s headquarters in Pangyo, just south of Seoul, beginning at 10 a.m. local time. According to the union, cited by Korean media, around 1,500 members from five Kakao units — including the headquarters, Kakao Pay and Kakao Enterprise — took part.

Participants marched around the company’s headquarters and nearby offices of other IT firms, holding white umbrellas as a symbol of protest. The walkout was expected to last approximately four hours, ending at 3 p.m.

The industrial action follows two rounds of government-mediated wage negotiations last month that failed to bridge differences between labor and management.

Union members are reportedly demanding performance-based incentives equivalent to 13–14 percent of last year’s operating profit. They are also seeking a restructuring of the compensation system to incorporate restricted stock units—an equity-based form of compensation—into the official bonus framework.

In an earlier statement, the union argued that management has been disproportionately increasing compensation for executives. It said average executive pay rose by 32.2 percent between 2024 and 2025, compared with a 2.9 percent increase in average employee wages over the same period.

Management has so far rejected the proposals, warning that such measures could place a “huge burden” on the company’s operations.

Despite the walkout, industry observers expect minimal disruption to Kakao’s core services, including its flagship messaging platform KakaoTalk. They note that many essential systems are automated and key personnel remain on duty to address potential service issues.

“We will prepare necessary response systems and do our utmost to ensure stable service operations,” a Kakao management official said.

Kakao Corp. is South Korea’s largest technology group and dominates the country’s domestic digital services market. While platforms such as Google, WhatsApp and Uber are widely used globally, their functions in South Korea are largely fulfilled by Kakao’s integrated ecosystem.

By Tamilla Hasanova