▲ A banner regarding the strike by the Naver Z union is hung in front of the Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on September 23. (Photo: Yonhap News)
The labor union of Naver has sent an open questionnaire to Naver Board Chair Lee Hae-jin and Naver Z CEO Kim Chang-wook, demanding an official response regarding the ongoing dispute at Naver Z, a subsidiary currently engaged in industrial action following a breakdown in wage negotiations.
The Naver chapter of the Korean Chemical, Textile and Food Workers' Union, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), announced that following an open inquiry email sent to Chair Lee and CEO Kim on the 7th, it dispatched official letters to the boards of directors and CEOs of Naver and Naver Z today (the 13th), urging official responses.
According to the union, among the 16 Naver affiliates that conducted wage negotiations this year, Naver Z is the only one where negotiations have ultimately broken down.
During the negotiation process, Naver Z management officially proposed freezing annual salaries. Despite partial strikes by the disgruntled union on September 9 and a full-day strike on the 23rd of last month, management has yet to present a revised proposal.
The union criticized that under the leadership of CEO Kim, who concurrently serves as the CEO of five entities including Snow and Naver Z, the burden of worsening business performance is being unfairly passed solely onto employees.
The union stated that Naver Z and Cake received notifications of salary freezes, and in the case of Naver Z, incentives were slashed to one-tenth of the previous year's level.
The union demanded the parent company's board chair, Lee, state his position on three key items: the justification of the management's decision, whether he intends to hold CEO Kim accountable for management, and the possibility of providing financial support of approximately 1.3 billion won to improve treatment to the level of the headquarters (a 5.3% increase).
To CEO Kim, the union questioned whether he plans to share the pain by cutting his own executive compensation, and inquired about the causes and accountability for Zepeto's failure to generate profits.
Oh Se-yoon, head of the Naver union chapter, pointed out, "Where there is authority, there must be responsibility," adding, "While the authority to lead the company lies with the executive, the responsibility for managerial failure is being borne by the employees working on the front lines."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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