Unionized workers of Kakao Corp. hold a protest rally in front of the company’s headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul on July 26, 2023, calling for the suspension of restructuring. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The labor union of Kakao Corp. is seeking group action after the South Korean tech giant’s subsidiaries recently carried out voluntary retirement and restructuring.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Kakao Branch on Wednesday staged a protest in front of the Kakao headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, attended by some 300 union members.
This protest marked the first group action taken by Crew Union, an independent labor union established in October 2018.
The protesters claimed that Kakao’s management is solely focused on making a profit for themselves, disregarding a series of business failures resulting in accumulated deficits.
They demanded that management issue a formal apology and take responsibility for their actions.
They also called for the management to address the job insecurity spreading throughout Kakao subsidiaries.
Kakao Entertainment Corp. introduced a voluntary retirement program named the Next Chapter Program last month.
Similarly, Kakao Enterprise Corp. is currently undergoing a restructuring that began on July 17, aiming to dismiss 80 percent of all staff.
XLGAMES, a subsidiary of Kakao Games Corp., also implemented a voluntary retirement program, despite the success of its mobile game “ArcheAge War” released in March.
Following the protest, the labor union delivered a petition letter to Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao.
The Crew Union, which began with around 100 members last year, has now grown to over 4,000 members.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
