Kakao Workers Authorize Strike at Five Affiliates, Threatening KakaoTalk Service for 45 Million Users
Summary
Workers at five Kakao affiliates authorized strike action, moving the company closer to a potential walkout that could disrupt KakaoTalk and its linked services for roughly 45 million users. The dispute centers on a demand to tie performance bonuses to a fixed share of operating profit, a model inspired by a 2025 SK hynix agreement. Mediation for Kakao Corp. continues on May 27; if it fails, a headquarters strike would be unprecedented and could cascade through payments, ride-hailing, and other daily services. The outcome could set a sector-wide precedent for profit-linked bonuses and add operational and investment risk to Kakao's restructuring and AI plans.
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applications
ERP & Process Management
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Consumer Software
SaaS
Mobile Applications
Linked Companies
Kakao Corp.
$1B+