Kakao's labor union has demanded an additional briefing session, claiming that an online town hall meeting held the previous day for minority shareholders regarding the company's planned corporate spinoff focused primarily on pre-arranged questions and answers.

In a statement released on September 16, the Kakao chapter of the Korean Chemical, Food and Allied Workers' Union said, "While claiming to communicate with minority shareholders, the session was in fact nothing more than a reiteration of a pre-determined decision."

Kakao held the online briefing for minority shareholders for about an hour yesterday afternoon.

Kim Do-young, head of Kakao's Group Investment Strategy Office, and Jeon Hyun-soo, head of Kakao's Business General Division, attended the session, while Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a did not participate.

The union pointed out that the briefing failed to provide specific explanations regarding the necessity of the corporate spinoff or concrete measures to protect shareholder value and working conditions after the division.

The union also criticized the format of the briefing session.

According to the union, out of the 16 questions addressed by Kakao's management, 14 had been prepared in advance by the company.

Only two questions from shareholders attending in real time were answered, with the time allotted for them amounting to just about six minutes.

Ahn Se-jin, vice president of the Kakao union, criticized the move, saying, "It is questionable whether they think they can persuade shareholders by cherry-picking questions they want to answer while ignoring uncomfortable ones. What Kakao showed was not communication, but a superficial show."

In addition, the union urged the company to explain the timeline of the spinoff along with guarantees for employment, compensation, welfare, and evaluation systems, while demanding the full disclosure of all shareholder questions submitted.

Seo Seung-wook, head of the Kakao union, stated, "Responsible management, including CEO Chung Shin-a, must attend an additional open briefing in person and directly answer the actual questions from shareholders."

(Photo: Yonhap News)