KakaoBank's union will begin a full strike from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4 for five consecutive business days. It is raising the level of industrial action by moving to a full work stoppage after a one-day strike and a compliance campaign last month.

The Kakao branch of the Korean Chemical Fiber Food Industry Union said on Wednesday it plans to hold a full strike from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 with all KakaoBank union members participating. It is the first time the Kakao branch has launched a long consecutive strike.

The union said the company has not presented a bargaining proposal that members can accept and has failed to narrow differences on key issues, explaining the background to its decision for a consecutive strike.

It said there was no major disruption to key financial services during the first strike, but the gap in operations could grow this time as the strike period is extended to five business days and all members are expected to participate.

The Kakao branch said it expects delays may occur in customer consultations and complaint handling, loan screening and manual processing, service operation and changes, and internal approvals and reviews if the consecutive strike continues. It also raised the possibility that responses could take longer than usual in the event of system failures or emergencies during the strike due to a lack of available staff.

The Kakao branch said the company designated additional staff as "non-strike personnel" beyond those excluded from industrial action by agreement between labor and management. It also said the company hindered participation by individually asking some members not to join the strike. The Kakao branch said it views the actions as potentially constituting an unfair labor practice and plans to consider whether to take legal action.

Park Sung-eui (박성의), head of the Kakao branch's struggle headquarters, said, "This strike is a new stage of struggle that begins because the company continues not to put forward practical solutions." He said, "We will continue our actions until the members' demands are realized."