Pangyo: Unionized workers of Kakao Corp., South Korea's leading messenger app operator, took a day off en masse on Monday in a sign of protest amid a continued gridlock in wage negotiations. In their second collective action, the unionized members staged what they called a "Log-out Day" by taking simultaneous annual leave.

According to Yonhap News Agency, around 2,100 workers from five units of Kakao, including its headquarters, Kakao Pay, and Kakao Enterprise, participated, as claimed by the labor union. However, the company estimates that only 800 employees from Kakao's headquarters took part in the latest industrial action.

The wage talks between Kakao's labor union and management have been at a standstill since May, following the failure to bridge differences over performance-based incentives. The union is demanding the company allocate around 13 to 14 percent of operating profit as bonuses, a demand the management has rejected, citing it as an undue burden on the company.

On June 10, the workers staged their first-ever strike, with about 1,500 union members walking out from their jobs for four hours and rallying near the company's headquarters in Pangyo, south of Seoul. Despite concerns from industry watchers, no disruptions were reported on Monday, including in Kakao's key messenger service, KakaoTalk.

Kakao's management had previously stated its intention to continue negotiations with the union while remaining on standby to ensure stable service operations.