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Naver Z Strike Approved Amid Salary Freeze Dispute; Kakao Nears Agreement
🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

Naver Z Strike Approved Amid Salary Freeze Dispute; Kakao Nears Agreement

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Employees of Naver Z, the operator of the metaverse platform Zepeto, have voted to approve strike action over the company's decision to freeze annual salary increases.
  • The union is demanding a 5.3% salary increase, consistent with Naver's main company, arguing that the salary freeze unfairly burdens employees with the company's management failures.
  • Naver Z's revenue decreased by 14.4% last year, resulting in an operating loss of 49.4 billion won, attributed to a slowdown in the metaverse market and cost-saving measures.
  • This dispute follows similar labor conflicts in the IT sector, including a recent tentative agreement reached at Kakao after a series of strikes.

Employees at Naver Z, the company behind the popular metaverse platform Zepeto, have overwhelmingly voted in favor of strike action, signaling a significant labor dispute over the company's decision to freeze annual salary increases. The union argues that this freeze unfairly places the burden of management's failures onto the employees, especially as their workload has increased.

Work is increasing, but salary is frozen.

— Naver Z Union SloganA slogan displayed by Naver Z employees protesting the company's salary freeze.

The conflict began when Naver Z's management proposed a 0% salary increase for the current year, a move that broke with the company's past practice of aligning salary adjustments with its parent company, Naver. The union is demanding a 5.3% raise, mirroring the increase granted at Naver, and contends that the company's financial difficulties, including a 14.4% revenue drop to 66.3 billion won and an operating loss of 49.4 billion won last year, are a result of market shifts and cost-saving measures that should not disproportionately affect employees.

Despite two mediation attempts by the regional labor relations commission, no agreement was reached between the union and management. The union's decision to proceed with strike action, including potential walkouts, follows the overwhelming approval in a recent vote. Protests have included banners displayed near Naver's headquarters, with slogans such as "Work is increasing, but salary is frozen" and "Freezing salaries is crossing the line."

The salary freeze notification, this has crossed the line!

— Naver Z Union SloganA slogan used by Naver Z employees to protest the company's salary freeze policy.

Naver Z has expressed regret over the union's decision but stated it is prepared to ensure stable service operations by maintaining essential personnel and an emergency response system. This labor dispute occurs amidst a broader trend of labor-management conflicts in South Korea's IT sector. Notably, employees at Kakao recently reached a tentative agreement on salary and performance bonuses after engaging in strikes, though negotiations continue at some Kakao affiliates.

We are very sorry about the situation where the union's dispute action was approved, and we are taking the voices of our members very seriously.

— Naver Z SpokespersonResponding to the union's vote to approve strike action.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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