KakaoBank union to launch five-day general strike on the 31st as labor tensions escalate

[Financial News] The KakaoBank labor union will begin a five-day general strike on the 31st. At a rally, the union pointed to CEO Yun Ho-young's compensation of more than 8.1 billion won in the first half of this year and demanded fair performance-based rewards for employees.
On the 26th, the Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union held a rally at Pangyo Station Plaza in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, to declare a five-day consecutive strike at KakaoBank Corp. At the event, members reaffirmed their resolve ahead of the general strike scheduled from the 31st to the 4th of next month.
This is the first time the Kakao branch has gone on strike for five consecutive business days. The KakaoBank union currently has about 1,100 members, accounting for 60% of all employees.
At the rally, branch head Seo Seung-wook said, "KakaoBank is a bank that was exceptionally allowed, under the Internet-only Bank Special Act, to let industrial capital control a bank." He added, "Through this, Kakao is generating substantial profits, but employees are not receiving proper compensation." He also criticized the company, saying, "While wage negotiations at KakaoBank have not been completed, CEO Yun received 8.1 billion won."
In the first half of this year, CEO Yun Ho-young received 8.175 billion won in compensation, the highest in the financial sector. KakaoBank said 7.29 billion won of that amount came from gains from exercising stock options and reflected long-term performance after leading the company for the past 10 years.
The Kakao branch views the labor dispute at KakaoBank as an example of broader problems in Kakao Corp.'s compensation system and responsible management. It says that while executives have recently received tens of billions of won in long-term performance-based rewards, employees who helped create those results are having their compensation demands treated merely as a cost.
The union said the impact on operations could be greater because the strike will last for five consecutive business days rather than just one day, and because all members will participate. In two earlier strikes, which were carried out by having most members take annual leave or days off, KakaoBank's services continued with little disruption.
At a press briefing held the same day, branch head Seo explained, "KakaoBank is an internet-only bank with automated core operations, so a one-day strike did not immediately lead to service suspension." He added, "During the earlier strikes, members also carried out advance work to prevent service disruptions." He went on to say, "Based on strike cases at traditional banks, we estimate losses from a five-day general strike at between 1.7 billion won and 8.3 billion won. The figure reflects deposit withdrawals, loan outflows, delays in app releases and updates, and setbacks to major projects." He added, "However, since there is no precedent for a long strike at an internet-only bank, the actual impact may differ from the estimate."
The Kakao branch also plans to oppose Kakao's plan for a corporate split. Because the proposal requires a special resolution at the shareholders' meeting, the union intends to inform major shareholders, including the National Pension Service (NPS), as well as individual investors, about the problems with the split and rally votes against it. It also plans to formally question whether, after the split, KakaoBank's parent company becoming the investment firm Kakao X would be consistent with the purpose of the Internet-only Bank Special Act.
KakaoBank said it will continue dialogue with the union. A company official said, "We will operate our response system to prevent inconvenience to customers and do our utmost to provide stable services."
[email protected] Lee Hyun-jung, Choi Hye-rim Reporter