Webzen Union Pauses Strike, Announces Meeting Next Week... Will Management Attend?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Webzen's labor union, which had announced the industry's first strike but is currently holding it in abeyance, plans to hold a formal meeting next week with the Democratic Party of Korea's lawmakers' offices, drawing attention to whether the management will attend.

The Webzen labor union (National Chemical, Textile, Food Industry Labor Union Webzen Branch) held a preparatory meeting on the morning of the 2nd at the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee to discuss overall labor conditions, including wage issues. The union announced that they would hold a formal meeting next week hosted by Democratic Party lawmakers Roh Woong-rae and Lee Sang-heon.

Lawmaker Lee Sang-heon's office plans to convey the discussion contents to Webzen management on the same day and officially request the management's participation in the meeting.

No Young-ho, head of the Chemical Fiber Union Webzen Branch, said, "From the union's standpoint, we hope the management will come to the negotiation table and engage in dialogue," adding, "However, even if there is no response from the management, the meeting will proceed as scheduled."

Webzen management has reportedly not expressed any additional willingness to negotiate with the union as of this day. A Webzen official stated, "If a participation request is received, we plan to review it."

While the union is pressuring the management to participate in the meeting through lawmakers' mediation, attention is also focused on whether the recent announcement by former lawmaker Kim Byung-kwan, Webzen's founder and former chairman of the board, to run in the Seongnam Bundang-gap by-election will affect the current situation.

Concerns have been raised that if the labor dispute intensifies at Webzen, where former lawmaker Kim is the largest shareholder, it could become a negative factor in the election.

The Webzen labor union has been negotiating wages with the management since the end of last year, demanding salary increases commensurate with the company's improved performance. After wage negotiations broke down in March, the union voted to strike but postponed it following the National Assembly's proposal for a meeting.

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