Look, let us be honest: anxiety regarding job security is soaring at Wemade after Chairman Park Kwan-ho decided to sell off his entire stake, and now, a labour union has officially formed at the company.

The Wemade Chapter of the Korean Chemical, Food and Allied Workers' Union (hereinafter referred to as the Wemade Chapter) announced its establishment on August 30, signaling its official launch. Wemade is a prominent game company in South Korea known for servicing titles such as The Legend of Mir 2, Mir4, and Night Crows, alongside operating the global blockchain platform ecosystem known as WEMIX. Recently, the company has entered a massive period of upheaval with its founder and Chairman Park Kwan-ho offloading his entire stake, leading to a change in the controlling shareholder.

The Wemade Chapter argues that amidst mounting internal and external uncertainties—such as sluggish performance and issues surrounding WEMIX—the management remains tight-lipped, failing to provide even a bare-minimum explanation regarding future organizational operations or employment guarantees. Furthermore, the chapter explained that a palpable sense of anxiety dominates the workplace over potential restructuring and business downsizing axes that might follow the change in the major shareholder, leaving current Wemade employees facing severe job insecurity.

In its establishment manifesto, the Wemade Chapter criticised the situation, stating, "Wemade's growth thus far has been made possible thanks to the sweat and toil of every single worker in development, business divisions, operations, and support departments who dedicated themselves day and night on the ground. However, amidst a rapidly changing market environment, the fruits of project success were concentrated solely on specific management members and shareholders, while the responsibility and anxiety stemming from business shifts or poor performance fell entirely on the shoulders of individual workers."

The reality that achievements are not fairly shared with employees while the risks of managerial uncertainty are shifted exclusively onto workers served as the catalyst for establishing this union. Additionally, the chapter pointed out that core HR and labor-condition systems—such as bonus payout criteria, wage structures, and employee benefits—have been unilaterally decided or altered without transparent standards. Concluding that the absence of a practical employee representative body to relay frontline voices has prevented them from checking the management's unilateral decision-making, Wemade workers chose to form an independent labor union to represent themselves and negotiate on equal footing.

Following its launch, the Wemade Chapter plans to prepare for collective bargaining by making strong demands to the company, which include: ▲ rejecting restructuring and layoffs disguised as major shareholder changes or organizational overhauls; ▲ blocking unilateral worsening of working conditions and improving the bonus payout system; ▲ securing management transparency through mandatory prior consultations whenever major business directions shift; and ▲ confirming the legitimate employment succession and organizational retention of key business units, including the WEMIX business.

Through its establishment manifesto, the chapter resolved, "We will no longer remain passive entities leaving our lives at the mercy of the company's unilateral decisions. No matter who the major shareholder becomes, the true owners who built Wemade are us, the workers, and we will cut through job instability with our organized strength to forge a fair and healthy workplace."

Meanwhile, the Chemical, Food and Allied Workers' Union belongs to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and boasts around 50,000 members across various industries, including petrochemicals, textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, gas, information and communication technology, gaming, minerals, and arts and culture. Workers from major South Korean game companies such as Neople, Nexon, Smilegate, NCSOFT, Webzen, and Netmarble are already part of its membership base.