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South Korea·Trade & Economy·Protests

Kakao union votes to strike over wage dispute at headquarters and four affiliates

Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 06:20 · 1 min read

Workers at Kakao Corp. (the operator of South Korea's dominant messaging platform, KakaoTalk) and four of its affiliates — Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XL Games — have voted in favour of strike action after wage negotiations with management collapsed. The union had sought performance-based incentives equivalent to roughly 13–14% of the company's operating profit, but mediation attempts with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission broke down for the affiliates, while proceedings involving Kakao's headquarters were postponed to May 27. The development reflects a wider wave of labour unrest in South Korea's tech sector, with Samsung Electronics' largest union simultaneously announcing an 18-day strike over similar demands for performance-linked pay.

Sources
Yonhap(LEAD) Workers at Kakao, 4 affiliates vote in favor of strike: union ↗︎Yonhap(URGENT) Kakao union says 5 affiliates, including headquarters, vote in favor of staging strike ↗︎YonhapKakao union says strike vote passes at 5 affiliates ↗︎
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