![[데스크 칼럼] SK and LG’s battery war with no shame](https://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/202103/26/2021032603006_0.jpg "[데스크 칼럼] SK and LG’s battery war with no shame")
Input 2021.03.27 04:00
However, even after the final ruling of the US International Trade Commission (ITC), I was really embarrassed to see that the two companies in Korea were only exhausting emotional battles and engaged in an over-the-counter public opinion rather than an effort to reach an agreement.
Even though ITC gave LG’s hand that “SK infringed on trade secrets,” SK continues to insist that it “did not infringe.” If it did not infringe LG’s trade secrets, the ITC’s ruling would be very unfair to SK, but it is true that the circumstances revealed so far raise reasonable doubts.
The fastest way for a latecomer to catch up with a leader is to pull out a leader’s manpower and use that know-how. SK took 76 LG employees from 2017 to early 2019. SK, which absorbed the manpower of competitors on a large scale in a short period of time, said, “It was decided by the parties in consideration of improved treatment such as annual salary and potential for future development.” The claim that employees are leaving because they pay less money and don’t manage properly would have sounded ridiculing from LG’s point of view.
LG, who felt a sense of insult and crisis, filed a lawsuit with ITC on April 29, 2019. Unlike Korea, in the United States, there is a’Discovery’ system. It is to disclose, exchange, and submit evidence related to litigation held by the parties before a full-fledged trial. “SK took our trade secrets, so let’s see what data they have” was LG’s idea.
SK has been obligated to preserve evidence since April 9, 2019 when it received a warning letter to prove the contents of the lawsuit from LG, but ITC determined that SK had violated this and that it had stood by to actively delete or delete related documents. . On the PC of an employee of SK Innovation from LG Chem, 980 deleted files containing keywords such as’LG, Company L, and competitors’ came out.
ITC judged that SK’s deletion of documents was an act of destroying evidence and contemplating the court, and issued a ruling for early defeat in March last year. In the final judgment released earlier this month, he also agreed with LG’s argument that “SK would not be able to develop trade secret information within 10 years without the 22 trade secrets stolen from LG.”
SK argues that the deletion of documents at the time was done for daily security, and the deleted data was not related to the infringement of LG’s trade secrets. According to SK’s assertion, it is difficult to understand at first glance that the data that should not be erased were deleted by violating the obligation to preserve evidence.
If US President Joe Biden does not veto ITC’s decision until April 11 and the two companies do not agree, SK will have to close its battery business in the United States. It is known that LG has proposed 3 trillion won in settlement amount and SK 1 trillion won in settlement amount, but SK insists that the amount requested by LG is excessive.
In order for the two sides to reach an agreement, they must first fill in the emotional goal. Mocking and blaming the other person won’t help you solve the problem. SK has no reason not to accept LG’s assertion, “Let’s check the list of trade secrets and evidence specified in the ITC ruling,” if it did not infringe LG’s trade secrets. LG should also open a retreat without asking SK for humiliating surrender just because it has seized the victory. If there is no concrete basis for the KRW 3 trillion settlement, it is difficult for SK management to agree, even because of the possibility of a blackout.
Ahead of the electric vehicle era, the mobility market is expected to change significantly. I hope that SK and LG, the leading domestic companies, will stop fighting embarrassing emotions and show their fair competition in overseas markets.