 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Kakao has been found to have violated South Korea’s 52-hour workweek regulation while undertaking a major overhaul of its KakaoTalk platform, and allegedly operated “double books” to conceal excessive overtime and delay wage payments, according to an exclusive report by Hankyoreh.
According to the report, the Seongnam branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor found that between September 2024 and November 2024, Kakao required 31 employees to work beyond the legal overtime limit. In addition, the company either failed to pay or delayed wages totaling approximately KRW 406 million for 442 current and former employees.
The issue stems from Kakao’s large-scale KakaoTalk platform revamp in September last year. Employees involved in the project were reportedly subjected to extreme working hours, in some cases nearing 300 hours per month.
During an internal meeting on August 7, Hong Min-taek, Chief Product Officer (CPO), acknowledged concerns raised by the labor union regarding excessive working hours, stating that the fixed launch schedule left little room for alternative operational approaches. HR leadership also noted a surge in violations of the 52-hour rule within the organization.
The investigation found that Kakao maintained dual records of working hours to mask violations. Overtime exceeding legal limits was recorded as if it had occurred in the following month, creating the appearance of compliance with labor laws.
Such practices were deemed to violate the Labor Standards Act, including provisions requiring full and timely wage payments and accurate wage statements reflecting actual working hours.
Internal union data further indicated that employees in key divisions—including the CPO organization and the AI-focused unit Kanana—frequently exceeded legal working hour limits. In one case, an employee reportedly worked 270 hours in a single month, including 110 hours of overtime, surpassing government thresholds for overwork-related risk.
Kakao stated that it is implementing corrective measures and reviewing its labor management systems. “We will strengthen internal controls to prevent recurrence of similar issues,” the company said.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
