Kakao Union: "Ryu Young-jun's Appointment Should Be Withdrawn... Ask 국민연금 to Vote Against"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Kakao labor union has demanded the withdrawal of the appointment of Ryu Young-jun, the CEO of Kakao Pay, who sparked controversy by selling a large amount of company shares.

The Kakao branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union recently stated in a press release, "The achievements that everyone worked hard for have been destroyed in an instant," and called for the withdrawal of Ryu's appointment as the new CEO of Kakao.

Ryu, who has been appointed as the new co-CEO of Kakao, is scheduled to join Kakao in March. However, controversy arose last month on the 10th when Ryu and other Kakao Pay executives sold approximately 440,000 shares worth 90 billion won in stock options. In response, Ryu held an internal meeting at Kakao Pay on the 4th and expressed his apology.

The union said, "This incident occurred due to decisions prioritizing personal gain," adding, "Even if there are reasons that cannot be explained otherwise, it will be difficult for the executives to escape moral responsibility, especially as the 'Kakao Pay Eat-and-Run Prevention Act' is being discussed in the National Assembly."

They continued, "Since Kakao Pay was spun off from Kakao in 2017, it has maintained a comprehensive wage system and has not implemented a flexible working system even after five years," criticizing, "The executives have gained hundreds of billions in profits, while the crews continue to endure hardships without change."

The union also stated, "Although a meeting was held, it was difficult to find any responsible attitude from the executives," adding, "One meeting cannot serve as a pardon for the executives."

Along with demanding the withdrawal of Ryu's appointment, the union called for the National Pension Service to vote against Ryu's appointment at the shareholders' meeting under the 'Stewardship Code' and for the headquarters to establish regulatory measures on executives' stock option sales.

Seo Seung-wook, head of the Crew Union branch, said, "There is responsibility for everything. One meeting cannot be a pardon," and added, "Taking responsibility means resigning from the position of Kakao's new CEO."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.