Game Industry's First Webzen Strike Declaration, Kakao and Nexon Unions Also Join Solidarity

Webzen Union Chairman Noh Young-ho is shouting slogans with attendees during a press conference urging dialogue with CEO Kim Tae-young and announcing a strike on the morning of the 18th in front of Webzen headquarters in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As Webzen's labor union declared a strike on the 2nd of next month, unions from companies such as Kakao and Nexon, which had already completed their salary negotiations early, announced their intention to show solidarity, intensifying tensions between labor and management in the gaming industry. The Webzen strike, triggered by conflicts over wage increases, appears to be expanding into disputes over the wage gap between executives and employees in the gaming sector.

The Webzen union (National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union Webzen Branch) held a press conference in front of Webzen headquarters on the 18th, stating, "We will strengthen our resolve with union members by Labor Day (May 1) and begin the strike on May 2." If the strike proceeds, it will be the first strike case among domestic game companies.

According to the Webzen union, during the wage negotiation process in January, the union submitted a demand to the company to uniformly increase employee salaries by 10 million KRW and to disclose the total amount of performance bonuses for team leaders and below. The company presented a final proposal to the union stating, "The 2022 wages will be increased by an average of 10%." Despite going through mediation by the Labor Relations Commission, the two sides ultimately failed to narrow their differences over the average wage increase rate.

The Webzen union argued, "We have seen numerous articles about Netmarble and NCSoft employees earning 100 million KRW annually, but when you actually ask employees at those companies, very few confirm that as true. Webzen is no different," they claimed.

According to Webzen's business report, the average salary per person as of the end of last year was 71 million KRW. Following the industry's overall trend of dramatic salary increases last year, Webzen also announced an average increase of 20 million KRW (salary + performance bonus). The Webzen union explained that the actual average salary is less than 50 million KRW, with most employees receiving raises in increments of 1 million KRW. The 20 million KRW average increase is attributed to salary raises and bonuses being concentrated among team leaders and above.

With Kakao and Nexon unions also deciding to show solidarity with Webzen's strike, tension is spreading throughout the gaming industry. Although most major game companies have surpassed an average annual salary of 100 million KRW, there are significant disparities depending on job duties and positions, and complaints are growing about opaque salary negotiations causing large pay gaps even for the same work. If the Webzen union ultimately proceeds with the strike, it could serve as a catalyst for simultaneous outbreaks of such grievances across the industry. This possibility is especially weighted given that Kakao and Nexon unions have joined in solidarity with the Webzen strike.

No Young-ho, chairman of the Webzen union (Chairman of the Chemical Fiber Union Webzen Branch), said, "We wanted to change this reality where, under the guise of a salary system, people compete based on ability and performance but cannot actually know their own results," adding, "When trying to hire people for proper updates, I no longer want to hear the lamentations of team leaders saying, 'We can't hire people with this money.'"

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