South Korea's Kakao Union Plans Strike, Demanding Compensation Reform and Job Security

Seoul, June 1 (CNA) - The labor union of South Korean internet tech company Kakao Corp said today that it plans to hold a four-hour strike and rally in Pangyo on June 10 to demand job security and reform of what it calls an 'excessively executive-biased' compensation system. According to Reuters, the union issued a statement saying its core demands include stopping restructuring actions such as layoffs and spin-offs, and improving the 'executive-oriented compensation system' that it says exacerbates employee anxiety. The union indicated that it may expand its actions depending on the progress of subsequent negotiations, but emphasized that it currently has no intention of completely disrupting company services. This action comes after the breakdown of wage negotiations last week, which involved government intervention. Kakao rejected the union's demands, including profit-sharing plans, arguing they are unrealistic given the current priority on investment and shareholder returns, and would place a significant burden on management. The union stated that employees receive limited rewards and face high uncertainty due to restructuring, while executives continue to receive excessive compensation. The union has not yet released detailed demands, but previously revealed it had discussed with management the distribution of about 10% of operating profit as employee bonuses. Similar labor disputes have occurred at Samsung Electronics. Recently, after the Samsung union threatened a strike that could impact the overall economy, it successfully secured a deal linking bonuses in the semiconductor division to 10.5% of performance.