Kakao labor and management fail in second mediation as the company’s first headquarters strike becomes a real possibility

Kakao’s headquarters labor and management failed to reach agreement in a second mediation session in Gyeonggi, giving the union the legal right to strike.

With an already approved strike vote in hand, the company’s first-ever headquarters strike now looks increasingly likely.

The dispute centers on wages, performance-based pay, and RSUs, and could spread across the wider Kakao group.

The conflict may also spill over into AI-related businesses and broader labor relations at subsidiaries such as KakaoPay and Kakao Enterprise.