"More Than 2,000 Join 'Annual Leave Strike'"...Kakao Estimates 800

[Financial News] Kakao labor union said more than 2,000 members joined its one-day "annual leave strike," in which employees stop working for a day.
The Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said on the 29th that about 2,100 people had joined "Logout Day" as of the previous day. Logout Day is a form of strike in which members take a full day of annual leave or a day off and do not work.
Five entities are taking part in the strike: Kakao, Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, DK Techin, and XL Games.
In a notice, the union said it is continuing negotiations with management and is discussing how to respond next.
Management, however, said it is difficult to distinguish between employees on leave and those taking part in the strike through the system. A Kakao official said, "Based on the number of employees on leave in similar working conditions in the past, we estimate the actual number of strike participants at the headquarters to be around 800," adding that "the impact on service operations is currently limited."
Earlier, Kakao labor union staged a four-hour partial strike and other collective actions on the 10th.
According to the union, about 1,000 members took part in the first partial strike. Kakao's headquarters union has about 2,500 members.
Kakao management and labor have been at an impasse for two months since collective bargaining talks over the performance bonus system broke down in May.
Because the union had already staged a strike on the 10th, there had been speculation that the latest annual leave strike could lead to a dramatic breakthrough in negotiations. However, both sides are reportedly refusing to back down.
The union is demanding performance bonuses worth about 13% to 15% of operating profit, while management says the request would place too much of a burden on the company and cannot be accepted. The two sides are also divided over the criteria for bonus payments and whether the 5 million won worth of restricted stock units (RSUs) should be counted as part of the bonus.
Still, because much of the service operation work is automated, major services are expected to continue without disruption unless an emergency arises.
Management plans to continue talks with the union while maintaining a real-time response system to ensure stable service operations and minimize any impact on customers.

[email protected] Joo Won-gyu Reporter