Kakao Union: "We Will Fight to the End with the Parties Involved in the Sale of Kakao Mobility"

Kakao Union Holds Press Conference Opposing Sale of Kakao Mobility
"Kakao Must Fulfill Its Social Responsibility"

On the 11th, labor and civil society organizations held a press conference opposing the sale of Kakao Mobility at Sangyeonjae in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Kakao labor union has expressed opposition to the sale of Kakao Mobility, stating that they will "fight to the end against MBK Partners, who intends to acquire Kakao Mobility, and Kakao, the seller."

The Kakao labor union 'Crew Union' held a press conference opposing the sale of Kakao Mobility on the 11th at Sangyeonjae in Jung-gu, Seoul, emphasizing that "Kakao's push to sell Kakao Mobility, despite its promise to fulfill corporate social responsibility, is nothing but evasion of responsibility or a deceptive act of covering up."

Kim Juhan, chairman of the National Substitute Driver Labor Union, who spoke at the event, said, "Although Kakao promised to fulfill its social responsibility, I was shocked by the talk of selling Kakao Mobility," adding, "I cannot help but feel anger at the evasion of responsibility behind the scenes despite verbal commitments to social responsibility."

Chairman Kim continued, "The media reports that Kakao Mobility is being evaluated at 8.5 trillion won and is up for sale, but this includes the sweat and blood of countless workers," emphasizing, "170,000 people work as substitute drivers for Kakao Mobility, and numerous taxi workers rely on Kakao Mobility to support their families. We will fight to the end with the parties involved in the sale."

Park Youngjun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union, pointed out, "'Eat-and-run management' threatens workers' workplaces and lives," and questioned, "With over 300,000 platform workers, where is the responsibility for workers' employment and social responsibility?"

The Kakao labor union, which is in conflict with management over the sale of Kakao Mobility, plans to escalate its opposition activities. Ten days after an emergency meeting with management earlier this month, the union resumed a signature campaign against the sale of Kakao Mobility and plans to put up promotional materials and banners.

They are also discussing holding a large-scale rally at the new Kakao office in Pangyo, including opposition actions targeting MBK.

Seo Seungwook, head of the Kakao branch of the Chemical, Textile, and Food Union, said, "At last year's National Assembly audit, former Chairman Kim Beom-su said, 'Kakao will not fear uncharted paths and will strive to create a better world than today,'" emphasizing, "To talk about coexistence, responsibility, and communication while secretly proceeding with the sale is the height of hypocrisy."

Seo added, "Having a private equity fund operate the Mobilipi platform used by the entire nation is like entrusting a fish shop to a cat," warning, "Only the management and large investors will benefit, while the citizens who use the platform, the workers who make a living through it, and small investors will all suffer."

He further questioned, "Kakao officially states that this is a 'share adjustment,' not a 'sale.' If changing the major shareholder to a private equity fund and transferring management rights is not called a sale, then what should it be called?"

Kakao currently holds a 57.5% stake in Kakao Mobility as the major shareholder, while the TPG consortium holds 24%, and Carlyle holds 6.2%.

Previously, Bae Jaehyun, Vice President of Kakao Community Alignment Center, who oversees investments in Kakao affiliates, stated in an internal notice on the 6th, "The rumor that Kakao is considering selling a significant portion of its mobility shares has never been considered," and added, "We are reviewing a plan to sell about 10% of Kakao Mobility shares to change the second-largest shareholder."

Meanwhile, after rumors circulated in the investment banking (IB) industry that Kakao, the major shareholder, is negotiating to sell its stake in Kakao Mobility to the private equity fund MBK Partners, conflicts between the company and the union have intensified.

When the union announced collective actions such as a signature campaign opposing the sale, on the 27th of last month, Kakao executives including Kim Seongsu, head of the Kakao Community Alignment Center (CAC), and Bae Jaehyun, Kakao's Chief Investment Officer (CIO), held an emergency meeting with the union.

In the second round of talks earlier this month, the union demanded from management: ▲ moral responsibility from Kakao Mobility's executives ▲ review and discussion of employees and business direction ▲ explanation of Kakao Mobility's social responsibility fulfillment progress ▲ discussion on platform workers and sale direction ▲ participation of Kim Beom-su, head of Kakao Future Initiative Center, at the negotiation table. However, the gap between the union and management remained unresolved. Kakao's union and management plan to hold a third round of talks.

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