[서울신문] ‘Battery dispute’ SK and LG compete for jobs in the U.S. ahead of biden’s veto

SK “Closed the factory, the unemployment crisis in Georgia
Biden government needs to veto ICT decisions”

LG Energy Solution “We invest instead of SK”
Pay attention to coordination such as settlement funds by the 11th of the new month

“The presidential veto should be exercised to prevent the’unemployment crisis’ in Georgia” (SK Innovation)

“I don’t have to worry about that. We can invest instead.” (LG Energy Solution)

LG and SK’s lawsuit for infringing battery trade secrets is spreading as a job creation competition in the United States. It is an analysis that US President Joe Biden emphasized employment expansion centering on eco-friendly businesses, and that both companies are trying to influence the’exercise of the presidential veto’, which will decide the course of the lawsuit by putting jobs ahead.

According to industry and foreign media on the 14th, LG Energy Solutions President Kim Jong-hyun recently told Georgia Senator Rapier Warnock, “LG ​​is ready to do anything to help Georgia residents and workers. If an outside investor takes over SK’s Georgia plant, LG may participate as a partner.”

LG said on the 12th, “By 2025, we will invest more than 5 trillion won in the US and build two or more battery production plants independently.” This investment will create more than 10,000 new jobs. A business official pointed out, “Usually, such a decision will be announced after securing the site and making the decision of the board of directors, but this time it is quite unusual.”

This is interpreted as an attempt to alleviate job concerns in Georgia when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) recently raised LG’s hand in LG-SK’s’battery war’.

SK, which currently spends $2.6 billion (approximately 3 trillion won) to build a battery plant 1 and 2 in Georgia, plans to create 2,600 jobs by 2024 by operating the plant. In addition, it has also proposed a blueprint to create more than 6,000 jobs by investing up to 5 trillion won or more in the long run. For this reason, if SK batteries are banned from operating in the US as per the ITC ruling, the economic blow to Georgia is inevitable.

With this in mind, SK said on the 1st to the US White House Direct Trade Representative (USTR) that “the president should veto the ITC decision”. In response, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp sent a letter to President Biden on the 12th stating, “If the president does not overturn the ITC decision, the factory will have to be closed”, requesting rescue.

On the 10th of last month, ITC imposed a ban on imports of SK batteries into the US for 10 years, saying, “SK has infringed LG’s trade secrets.” However, the decision of ITC, an administrative agency, must be approved by the President. The ITC decision can be reviewed until the 11th of the following month, 60 days after the decision. In other words, if President Biden exercises his veto within the 11th of the following month, the ITC decision will be invalidated. If the veto is not exercised, the ITC decision will be finalized and SK must accept an order to ban imports and stop infringing trade secrets for the next 10 years. However, if the two sides agree within this period, there are no restrictions on SK. Currently, there is a large disagreement between the two sides over the size of the settlement amount.

Reporter Oh Kyung-jin [email protected]