The labor union of Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon, decided to go on strike again after repeated breakdowns in negotiations with management over performance bonus allocation. As the labor-management conflict drags on, discontent among game users is spreading.
The Neople chapter of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Chemical Fiber Food Union said in a statement on the 23rd that "there was no change in the company's position in the main talks on the 18th," and announced it will strike for four days on the 23rd–25th and 30th of this month. The union launched the game industry's first strike in June, but suspended it earlier this month, returned to work, and moved to resume talks.
The union says Neople, despite posting record revenue in 2024 thanks to the success of "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile" in China last year, paid a reduced new development performance bonus (GI). In response, it is demanding the company pay about 39.3 billion won to employees as profit sharing (PS), equivalent to 4% of the previous year's operating profit of 982.4 billion won, and formalize the system.
During the talks, the company proposed a "goal-attainment spot bonus" for certain teams, but the union held that it could not discuss it unless a plan covering all employees was a prerequisite. Labor and management agreed to hold the next main talks on Oct. 21 and continue working-level negotiations in the meantime.
Prolonged labor-management conflict is fueling consumer complaints. Neople canceled the "Dungeon & Fighter" 20th-anniversary event scheduled for summer and replaced it with a corporate social responsibility event. As key summer season content updates are delayed, some users are voicing complaints that "consumers are being held hostage."