SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - KakaoBank employees are set to stage a full-day strike on Friday - in what would be the first labor action by a South Korean online-only bank - after this year's wage negotiations collapsed over performance-based compensation.
Instead of belonging to the Korea Financial Industry Union, KakaoBank employees are members of the Kakao chapter of a union representing chemical, textile and food industry workers, which also covers workers across Kakao affiliates, including the company's messaging, mobility and payment businesses.
The strike follows the collapse of this year's wage negotiations after the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Relations Commission ended mediation without reaching an agreement. The two sides have not resumed talks since then.
The case also underscores how labor relations differ across South Korea's internet-only banking sector. Neither K Bank nor Toss Bank has a labor union, and public labor disputes have been rare among the country's digital lenders.
Despite the planned strike, customers are unlikely to experience significant service disruptions. South Korean regulations require financial institutions to maintain business continuity plans that keep essential services operating during emergencies, including labor disputes. A similar test came earlier this year during "logout days" at Kakao and Kakao Pay, when system operations continued with little disruption.
KakaoBank said it would maintain core banking services under its existing business continuity plan to minimize inconvenience to customers.
If the strike proceeds, it will mark the first industrial action since South Korea introduced internet-only banks in 2017. While time remains for the two sides to resume negotiations before Friday, no additional talks have been reported since mediation ended.
As of 11:20 a.m. Monday, KakaoBank shares were trading at 22,250 won on the Korea Exchange, up 0.91 percent from the previous session's close.
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