Kakao headquarters labor and management failed to find common ground in a second round of mediation at the labor commission on the 27th. As a result, the union obtained the legal right to launch industrial action, including a strike. If a strike takes place at Kakao headquarters, it would be the first case since the company was founded nine years ago.
According to the industry that day, the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission held a second mediation meeting on Kakao's labor dispute mediation application but decided to suspend mediation. The session began at 3 p.m. and continued for more than eight hours, but ultimately failed to reach an agreement.
The union is expected to gather members' opinions and discuss whether to begin industrial action and how to proceed. After mediation was halted that day, a union official said, "We plan to strike in June," while noting, "The form and method are undecided."
The strike could be joined by Kakao headquarters and four affiliates—Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XLGAMES. However, there is still a possibility of additional talks.
In this round of mediation, the main issue was reportedly the distribution of performance bonuses. Labor and management were said to have continued discussions on compensating a portion of last year's operating profit as performance bonuses and on whether to include 5 million won worth of restricted stock units as part of the bonus.
Earlier, the Kakao chapter of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) National Chemical Fiber and Food Industry Union applied for mediation with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 7th after wage talks with management broke down. A first round of mediation was held on the 18th but failed to reach an agreement.