Kakao Union Declares Struggle Against Corporate Split in Pangyo, Saying Rights Cannot Be Divided

The Kakao union has announced that it will stage a five-day general strike at KakaoBank starting at the end of this month, demanding that the headquarters withdraw its plan for a corporate split and engage in joint negotiations.

The Kakao branch of the Korean Chemical, Food and Textile Workers' Union (Kakao union) held a rally today (the 26th) at Pangyo Station Square in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, declaring a joint negotiation stance against Kakao's corporate split alongside a resolution for strike action.

Seo Seung-wook, head of the Kakao union branch, criticized Kakao's announcement of a corporate split, stating, "It is hard to find any responsible reflection or concrete measures for past failures. Without evaluating years of management failures, they are once again trying to evade responsibility by splitting the company."

In response, Seo demanded joint negotiations, asserting, "You may split the company, but you cannot divide our rights."

Previously, Kakao announced plans for a corporate split dividing the legal entities into Kakao AI and Kakao X. However, the union maintains that even if the split proceeds, a negotiating structure encompassing all of Kakao is necessary.

The Kakao union stated that its primary goal for joint negotiations is to block the current corporate split.

"We will inform shareholders and citizens of the problems with this split," Seo said. "We will fight to vote down the split plan agenda at Kakao's general meeting of shareholders."

At the declaration ceremony, KakaoBank union members criticized management for showing no substantial changes in their proposals despite wage and performance compensation negotiations having continued since January of this year, accompanied by Labor Relations Commission mediation, two full-day strikes, and compliance struggles.

They warned that they would launch a full-scale strike for five consecutive days from the 31st of this month to September 4.

Shin Hwan-seop, head of the Chemical, Food and Textile Workers' Union, pointed out, "While they debate whether the wage increase rate should be 5% or 6%, the CEO of KakaoBank took home 8.1 billion won in compensation in the first half of this year alone."

Meanwhile, KakaoBank explained that out of the 8.1 billion won received by CEO Yoon in the first half of the year, 7.29 billion won came from gains on the exercise of stock options, serving as compensation for long-term performance.

Previously, the KakaoBank union and management were known to have discussed a 5% to 6% range for annual salary increases, but failed to reach a final agreement.

Han Jang-hyun, a union staff member, said, "If the company complains about the burden of labor costs for employees while being generous with company funds used by executives, that standard cannot be considered fair. Reveal the cost standards applied to executives transparently and give responsible answers to the legitimate demands of employees."

Cheon Gang-min, a delegate, emphasized, "The company remains at the level of slightly revising and re-explaining the existing wage negotiation proposal. This negotiation cannot be concluded with a proposal that merely repackages previously presented items or changes a few numbers."

The union estimated that 400 to 500 union members from Kakao affiliates, including KakaoBank, attended the rally, and wage negotiation talks for KakaoBank have been underway since 3:00 PM.

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