Kakao workers launch first-ever strike, shining spotlight on tech sector pay practices

Kakao's workers on Wednesday staged their first strike since the company’s founding, a move which raised questions about whether similar labor demands could spread across Korea’s tech industry.

The union launched a partial walkout from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Excluding a one-hour lunch break from noon to 1 p.m., the strike lasted four hours in practice, with employees from Kakao headquarters and subsidiaries Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin and XL Games participating.

Beginning at noon, union members marched for about 40 minutes from the plaza in front of Pangyo Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, to H Square, a commercial building in the same neighborhood.

Around 500 workers played janggu (a traditional Korean drum) and kkwaenggwari (a small flat metallic gong).

“Victory in the Kakao strike! Secure joint bargaining!” they chanted. “Irresponsible management must step down!”

The union also announced an additional protest on June 29 in the form of a “log-off day,” during which members will take paid leave and refrain from working.

The union is demanding the establishment of a bonus system tied to operating profit; the exclusion of restricted stock units from performance-bonus resources; guarantees for employment stability; and joint bargaining rights across Kakao affiliates.

“We will not stop until management provides a responsible answer,” said Seo Seung-uk, head of Kakao’s union, adding, “Real reform at Kakao must be driven not by management but by the crews themselves,” referring to the workers.

Employees attending the rally also voiced frustration over what they described as a lack of transparency in the company’s compensation standards.

“Projects that were pushed companywide, such as an overhaul of KakaoTalk, had their schedules and goals set from the top down,” an employee from Kakao headquarters said. “But once they were completed, no one explained how compensation would be determined. It is hard to understand why the performance of executives and senior management is recognized through measurable figures while the contributions of crews are treated only as a cost.”

The strike is drawing attention across the information technology sector because it could reignite a broader debate over compensation systems throughout the industry.

Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon, carried out the game industry’s first strike over performance bonuses in June 2025. Employees at Hancom and Kakao Mobility have also staged partial walkouts.

Industry observers say that if Kakao and its union reach an agreement on a profit-linked bonus system, similar demands could quickly spread across the platform sector.

The possibility of broader labor solidarity was evident at Wednesday’s rally, with the presence of union representatives from other platform companies, including Woowa Brothers, which operates the Baedal Minjok food delivery service, and Yanolja, the operator of a reservation platform.

“Employees have grown increasingly concerned about job security amid recent reports of a potential sale [of Woowa Brothers],” said Hwang Ji-in, a senior official representing laborers at the company's union. “Any sale must include guarantees on job security, existing working conditions and collective bargaining agreements.”

Hwang called the Kakao laborers’ demand a “fight to collectively direct our voices toward those who bear real responsibility.”

“Although the company has recently emphasized the AI transformation and cost efficiency, we have seen the abolition of team dinner budgets, reductions in remote work and growing job insecurity under the banner of improving low performers’ capabilities,” said Eom Ju-il, head of Yanolja’s union. “Kakao is not the only company asking workers to pay the price for management’s mistakes."

BY KWEN YU-JIN [[email protected]]