Kakao’s labour union, Crew Union, is moving to industrial action including a strike after wage agreement talks with the company broke down this year.

The Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Fiber and Food Industry Labor Union issued a statement on the suspension of mediation for Kakao Corp and said on May 28 it will step up preparations for strike action in June.

The move follows a May 27 decision by the labour commission to halt mediation on Kakao Corp’s 2026 wage agreement negotiations.

The Kakao union said, "The fact that mediation was ultimately halted after months of negotiations shows how much trust between the company and its members has collapsed."

The union has demanded steps such as improving what it called an opaque performance compensation structure, establishing reasonable distribution standards and measures to restore trust, rather than a simple wage increase. It said the company maintained a passive stance during negotiations, changed its bargaining representative several times and unilaterally paid performance bonuses, undermining continuity in talks and trust.

The union also mentioned the resignation of Chief Product Officer Min-taek Hong (홍민택) that surfaced the previous day and notices of layoffs at subsidiary XL Games, stressing the need for management reform.

The union highlighted the compensation scale of executives who have been at the centre of controversy, including former Kakao Pay CEO Young-joon Ryu (류영준), former Kakao CEO Eun-taek Hong (홍은택) and former Kakao Enterprise CEO Sang-yeop Baek (백상엽). It urged the company to respond, saying, "Now it must provide an answer about the unfairness and absurdity that crews feel."

The Kakao union said it will keep open the possibility of dialogue even after the mediation halt decision, while preparing strike action in June.

A union official said, "We will step up preparations for strike action in June together with our members so that the value of labour is duly respected and the company’s performance can be shared fairly with the members who worked together." The official added, "We will provide the detailed schedule for strike action through a separate channel."