Kakao Union to Hold Joint Action at Pangyo Station Square on Aug. 26, Demanding Joint Bargaining

The Kakao labor union announced that it will hold a joint bargaining declaration ceremony for Kakao affiliates and a rally for consecutive strikes by Kakao Bank workers at 1:00 p.m. on the 26th at the square in front of Pangyo Station.

The Kakao branch of the Korean Chemical, Food and Textile Workers' Union (Kakao Union) released a statement to this effect on the 21st.

This event will be the first large-scale union gathering held immediately after Kakao announced its plan to split the company horizontally into Kakao AI and Kakao X.

In the statement, the Kakao Union pointed out, "Kakao cited corporate value enhancement and greater efficiency in decision-making and capital allocation as the reasons for this split," adding that "the complicated business structure was not the sole cause of the damage to corporate value."

The union criticized, "Following the corporate split, it is even more crucial to protect workers' employment and working conditions in the event of restructuring, sales, mergers, spin-offs, or business transfers," and noted that "during this announcement process, the majority of members were not provided with sufficient information about their futures, and there was no prior consultation with the labor union."

Seo Seung-wook, head of the Kakao union branch, pointed out, "Splitting Kakao in two may be a decision for the company to make, but the company cannot unilaterally decide the changes to employment and working conditions that result from that decision," adding, "Even if the company splits, it cannot divide its past management failures and accountability toward its members."

The union maintains its stance to push for joint bargaining leveraging this corporate split.

While issues such as wages, compensation, employment stability, and affiliate sales and restructuring currently arise within individual legal entities, major investment, business reorganization, personnel decisions, and capital allocation are made at the affiliate community level, according to the union.

The union argued that as the decision-making structure becomes even more complex following the corporate split, dispersing bargaining structures by individual legal entity will make it difficult to resolve practical issues.

Accordingly, the Kakao branch plans to establish a structure through joint bargaining where issues that are difficult to resolve solely through individual legal entities—such as responsible management, employment stability, and fair performance distribution—can be discussed with actual decision-makers.

Park Seong-i, head of the Kakao Union Struggle Headquarters, said, "The 26th is a day when Kakao Bank workers resolve to struggle ahead of their five-day consecutive strike, as well as a day when Kakao community workers declare that they will no longer scatter by legal entity to solve their problems individually," adding, "If the company makes decisions at the community level, workers will also bargain and respond at the community level."

Prior to the rally, the union plans to host an open chat session for members during lunchtime on the 24th to field questions from employees regarding the newly established entities and the corporate split, with additional open chat sessions to follow.

Earlier that day, Kakao held a board meeting and resolved to split the company into Kakao AI and Kakao X.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.