![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-p.v1.20260510.a7a5a21cfc4247fab13cc18294d4ed78_P1.jpg\"\/ "\\"Kakao")
In March, the Kakao labor union holds a rally in front of the main gate of Kakao’s Pangyo Agit office in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, protesting the spin-off of the in-house independent company (CIC) operating the Daum portal into a separate entity. Not directly related to the article. News1<\/p>\n
Kakao’s (035720.KS) labor union has entered labor commission mediation proceedings, demanding an expansion of performance bonuses. Labor-management tensions have reached a turning point, as a failure to reach agreement could lead to a strike.<\/p>\n
Union Demands Bonuses Worth 15% of Operating Profit; SK hynix Case Sparks Dispute<\/p>\n
According to the IT industry on Wednesday, the Kakao chapter of the Korean Federation of Chemical, Textile and Food Workers’ Unions has requested mediation from the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission after failing to reach a wage agreement with management for 2026. Unions at some of Kakao’s affiliated entities are also reported to have joined the mediation request.<\/p>\n
The key issue in the negotiations is the size of performance bonuses. While the union did not directly demand a specific percentage, the amount it proposed is said to correspond to 13 to 15 percent of operating profit when converted to that basis. Some observers interpret this as being influenced by the precedent set by SK hynix (000660.KS), which decided to allocate 10 percent of its operating profit as a performance bonus pool.<\/p>\n
According to industry estimates, Kakao’s operating profit last year was approximately 440 billion won, with around 4,000 employees. If the union’s demands are accepted, the performance bonus per employee is estimated to reach around 15 million won.<\/p>\n
“Will Engage in Mediation in Good Faith”; Strike Prospects Uncertain<\/p>\n
Kakao said that although talks have continued, the two sides have failed to find common ground on the detailed compensation structure.<\/p>\n
“The company has been sincerely negotiating with the union regarding the 2026 wage talks, but we were unable to reach a final agreement on the detailed design of the compensation structure and have therefore entered mediation proceedings,” a Kakao official said. “We will keep the channel for dialogue with the union open at all times and make every effort until the end to reach an amicable agreement.”<\/p>\n
If the labor commission’s mediation fails, the union may proceed with industrial action. However, the mediation request itself does not mean a strike, and whether an actual walkout occurs depends on the mediation outcome and the union’s internal procedures.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kakao’s share price has remained in the 40,000 won range even amid a stock market boom that has seen the KOSPI break through 7,000. Analysts attribute this to suppressed investor sentiment, as the profitability of its AI services has yet to materialize. The stock, which once exceeded 70,000 won last year, closed at 46,000 won on Monday.<\/p>\n
Securities firms have been lowering their target prices while maintaining buy recommendations. “We are lowering our target price to 70,000 won and maintaining our buy rating,” said Kim So-hye, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities. “While the stock’s underperformance relative to the market continues, this is a zone where upside factors will be more significantly reflected.”<\/p>\n
She added, “Quarterly earnings are expected to rise on advertising growth, and gradual re-rating is likely to emerge as the monetization potential of AI agents is at least partially confirmed.”<\/p>\n
“Earnings Are at Record Highs, So Why Is the Stock Like This?” The Only Key to a Rebound for Naver and Kakao<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In March, the Kakao labor union holds a rally in front of the main gate of Kakao’s Pangyo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[622],"tags":[8534,8536,827,8532,8535,8533,3532,275],"class_list":{"0":"post-11222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kakao","8":"tag-2026-wage-negotiations","9":"tag-gyeonggi-regional-labor-relations-commission","10":"tag-kakao","11":"tag-kakao-labor-union","12":"tag-korean-it-industry","13":"tag-labor-mediation","14":"tag-performance-bonus","15":"tag-sk-hynix"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}