Kakao

Kakao's labor talks with its union resumed in June 2026 but were clouded by a persistent leadership vacuum at the South Korean tech conglomerate, with workers at multiple Kakao subsidiaries (including Kakao Pay and Kakao Mobility) raising strike threats over stagnant wages, opaque restructuring, and management's failure to commit to negotiated terms. The dispute extended a multi-year pattern of governance turmoil at Kakao following the criminal probe into founder Brian Kim and continued operational instability across the group.

On February 4, 2026, Kakao notified KakaoTalk's 47M+ users it would begin collecting and analyzing usage records and patterns for targeted advertising. After public backlash over privacy invasion, Kakao revised its terms on February 11, deleting some controversial provisions. This followed a September 2025 redesign debacle that was rolled back in 5 days after user revolt, and criticism of a location-sharing feature that allegedly enabled stalking.