[Exclusive] Naver becomes first IT company to join KEF, moves to address labor-management risks ahead of Yellow Envelope Act

As IT labor unions grow louder, Ahead of the full implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act in March, Naver joins the labor-management relations group KEF

사진 확대 Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]

It was belatedly confirmed that Naver has formally joined the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), becoming the first information technology company in South Korea to do so. The move appears aimed at tapping KEF’s specialized labor-management network ahead of the end-of-year implementation of amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, known as the Yellow Envelope Act.

According to business circles on the 11th, Naver submitted its application for KEF membership late last year and was approved, officially becoming a member company. The timing came as labor-management uncertainty was expected to rise with the Yellow Envelope Act set to take effect. A KEF official confirmed, “Naver joined at the end of last year.”

KEF is an employers’ group that focuses on managing labor relations for its member companies. Naver’s move suggests it viewed the uncertainty in labor-management relations as serious. “IT companies that have been promoting autonomous corporate cultures have not shown much interest in KEF, which specializes in labor management,” said one business group official. “Naver’s membership shows just how unpredictable labor-management relations have become.”

The Yellow Envelope Act, which took effect in March, significantly expands the responsibility of parent companies for subcontracted workers. Naver has a complex governance structure, with multiple subsidiaries and grand subsidiaries under its headquarters. In recent years, the Naver branch of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union under the KCTU has demanded that the headquarters directly negotiate over wages and welfare improvements for workers at its grand subsidiaries.

Since the Yellow Envelope Act took effect, the union’s pressure has intensified further. The Naver branch’s plan to hold a “Naver affiliates joint bargaining declaration ceremony” on the 20th is part of the same trend. The company is now facing legal and institutional risks that its existing in-house HR team alone may struggle to handle. That is why Naver has reached out to KEF, which has long represented management’s position by warning that the Yellow Envelope Act will trigger persistent disputes at industrial sites.

Labor relations in South Korea’s IT industry are also expected to reach a new turning point. In the past, IT companies relied on rapid growth and generous stock options and performance bonuses to curb conflict. The traditional confrontation between labor and management was seen as a story limited to manufacturing, the so-called smokestack industries. But as the platform sector has matured, disputes have been rising sharply. Kakao’s labor union staged the company’s first-ever headquarters strike in June. Other game companies have also joined Kakao rallies, strengthening solidarity. This year, intense labor disputes are expected again, led by the Naver and Kakao unions.

사진 확대 Members of the Kakao branch of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union (Kakao labor union) hold a rally titled “Victory in the 2026 wage and collective bargaining negotiations” in May at Pangyo Station Plaza in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.