Naver Union Pushes for Integrated Bargaining Across Affiliates, Citing Over 1,000 Hours Wasted Annually

▲ Integrated Bargaining Discussion

Naver's labor union has officially initiated its push for integrated collective bargaining across its affiliated companies.

The Korean Chemical, Textile and Food Workers' Union (KTF) affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), along with the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Yong-woo, held a discussion titled "Exploring Integrated Bargaining Structures for the IT Industry" this morning at the National Assembly Members' Hall in Yeouido, Seoul.

The discussion was organized to diagnose the structural limitations of headquarters-centric authority and subsidiary-level bargaining unique to IT corporate groups, while exploring the necessity of integrated bargaining as a legal and practical alternative.

Shin Hwan-seop, president of the KTF union, pointed out, "Workers were able to form unions under single names like Naver or Kakao, but they are split into numerous names ranging from subsidiaries to sub-subsidiaries." He added, "Although subsidiaries can do nothing without the headquarters' decision, management forces individual bargaining, which worsens bargaining gaps and wastes time."

Oh Se-yoon, head of the KTF IT Committee (and head of the Naver union chapter), also stated that Naver practically exercises control over the working conditions of its affiliates.

According to Oh, Naver operates under a system of over 40 domestic subsidiaries, while Kakao operates with more than 90 domestic subsidiaries.

"Core management functions such as human resources, public relations, accounting, and finance are all concentrated at the headquarters, making subsidiaries practically nothing more than a department of the headquarters," Oh said. He added, "Looking at the case of secondary subsidiaries where remaining funds after settling operating costs were retrieved through Naver's paid-in capital reduction rather than improving worker treatment clearly shows where financial control lies."

Oh further noted, "During wage negotiations, subsidiaries cannot even present management's proposals until Naver reaches an agreement, and they end up settling at the same level immediately after Naver's agreement."

He emphasized, "Negotiations are held 150 times a year across 16 legal entities, with around 100 labor and management representatives wasting over 1,000 hours every year." He added, "Considering legal advisory fees for each entity, unnecessary costs and time are being wasted."

Kwon Oh-sung, a professor at Yonsei University Law School, cited Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the amended Trade Union Act as the basis for integrated bargaining.

Kwon explained that as the employer status of entities in a position to substantially and concretely control and determine working conditions has been recognized, a legal foundation has been established to rectify the issue where the parent company remained outside of bargaining.

He added, however, that the parent company's bargaining responsibility should not be granted comprehensively, but rather defined within the scope of working conditions where it actually exercises control and decision-making power.

Kwon suggested, "Rather than binding the entire corporate group as a single employer, a 'procedural-linked multi-tiered bargaining model'—which maintains existing bargaining units per legal entity while connecting bargaining procedures solely for common agendas—could be a practical alternative."

In the subsequent discussion, experts also agreed on the efficiency of integrated bargaining.

Moon Jun-hyuk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University Law School, mentioned the institutional necessity to prevent reduced efficiency and increased costs caused by repetitive negotiations, while Park Myung-jun, a senior research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, evaluated that "the employer side can also reduce bargaining costs and stably manage conflicts between entities."

Song Ga-ram, head of the KTF NC chapter, stated, "NC has also experienced seven spin-offs and large-scale recommendation-based resignations over the past year." She emphasized, "We must establish common standard interfaces through integrated bargaining—such as principles for operating the comprehensive wage system, criteria for remote and flexible work, and evaluation systems tied to AI utilization—to prevent hindered collaboration and talent drain."

As of August of this year, the Naver union represents 6,200 members across 28 legal entities, with collective agreements and negotiations underway in 16 of those entities.

The union plans to hold an integrated bargaining kickoff ceremony at 12 PM on the 20th and embark on full-scale actions.

Lim Young-guk, head of the KTF Policy Research Institute, stated, "This push will mark the beginning of the Pangyo Model, a new milestone in South Korea's labor-management relations."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

※