Kakao Union Stages Collective Leave Protest for Bonuses

The union representing employees at South Korean IT giant Kakao launched a protest on June 29, utilizing collective annual leave to demand improvements in the company's performance bonus system. The core of the union's demand is for Kakao to issue a bonus of approximately 10 million Korean won (about NT$207,100) to each employee.

According to industry sources, Kakao's management and the union have yet to reach a consensus on the standards for performance bonus distribution. In response, the union organized this collective action, which also included employees withdrawing from the company's business systems. This protest involves about 3,000 employees from Kakao's headquarters and four subsidiaries: Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, dk techin, and XLGAMES.

This marks the second collective action by the Kakao union, following a partial strike initiated on June 10. Facing this widespread work stoppage, Kakao has activated its emergency response mechanism to ensure the normal operation of its main services, such as the Kakao Talk messaging platform. The company stated it will continue to negotiate with the union to find a resolution.