“Respect for trade secrets is the basis of ESG management”
SK focuses on exercising the veto of the US President
LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol (pictured) announced on the 25th that “we will take strict measures to receive compensation appropriate for the size of the damage” in relation to the dispute over the infringement of electric vehicle battery trade secrets with SK Innovation.
LG Energy Solutions and SK Innovation, which are LG Chem battery subsidiaries, are negotiating a settlement amount, but they are not able to narrow the difference in opinion about the amount. The dispute between the two companies is turning into a powerful river as SK is engaged in an all-out war to elicit the U.S. president’s veto.
Vice Chairman Shin said at the 20th regular shareholders’ meeting held at LG Twin Tower in Yeouido, Seoul this morning, saying, “We will do our best to enhance the value of our shareholders, investors, and the company through the protection of intellectual property rights accumulated for over 30 years.” I emphasized it like this.
Regarding the final decision of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), he said, “Even in the light of my 30 years of global business experience, it is this issue that ITC made a firm decision on the perpetrators by mentioning the organizational culture as well as the judgment of trade secret infringement, the issue of litigation It is based on a strict recognition of the importance and seriousness of this.”
Vice Chairman Shin said, “In light of the global ESG (environmental, social, governance) management stance, respect for intellectual property rights such as trade secrets is fundamental to business operation.” He added, “It is a pity that our competitors do not accept the ITC decision that is respected in international trade norms and regard the cause only as a result of inexperienced global conflict.”
Earlier, LG applied for an investigation with the ITC, claiming that SK has removed personnel related to electric vehicle batteries and infringed trade secrets, and on the 11th of last month, the ITC ruled that SK Innovation’s batteries were banned from US production and import for 10 years.
It is known that LG Energy Solutions demands more than 3 trillion won in compensation, while SK Innovation wants to reach an agreement in the range of 1 trillion won.
SK Innovation’s board of directors held an expanded audit committee on the 10th and expressed an opinion that “LG’s requirements cannot be accommodated to a level that does not mean that SK will continue its battery business in the United States.” It is known that SK Innovation will re-emphasize this position at the shareholders’ meeting held on the 26th.
SK is doing its utmost to elicit the presidential veto, including recently recruiting Sally Yeats, who served as Vice Minister of Justice in the Obama administration of the U.S. as a business adviser, and dispatching Chairman of the Board of Directors Kim Jong-hoon, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to the U.S.
The U.S. President’s right to veto an ITC ruling is until the 11th of next month. If President Biden does not exercise his veto during this period, SK Innovation will be banned from producing and importing batteries in the United States for 10 years, except for Volkswagen and Ford, which received a grace period of two and four years.
Reporter Mansoo Choi [email protected]
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