LG and SK headquarters buildings. yunhap news
The Georgian government of the United States asked President Joe Biden to veto the International Trade Commission (ITC)’s ban on the import of SK Innovation batteries, indicating that LG Energy Solutions could take over the SK Innovation plant. .
On the 12th (local time), according to AJC, a local media in the United States, Kim Jong-hyun, president of LG Energy Solutions, sent a letter to Senator Rapier Warnock on the 10th. President Kim said, “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 in operating it.” .
LG Energy Solutions announced on the 12th that it plans to build two or more battery production plants by investing more than 5 trillion won in the US. The candidate site for the plant has not been decided yet, and it is scheduled to be announced in the first half of this year, but there is also a prospect that Georgia may be included as a new plant construction area in the future. An official at LG Energy Solutions explained, “We sent a letter to clarify that this situation has occurred due to SK’s fraudulent takeover of technology, and to alleviate concerns about jobs in Georgia.”
Indeed, the Georgian government is puzzled by the ITC’s decision. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp sent a letter to President Joe Biden on the same day, asking again to overturn ITC’s ban on the import of SK Innovation batteries. “SK’s electric vehicle battery plant, which will be built in Commerce, Georgia, will employ 2,600 people in the future, and the 2.6 billion dollar (about 3 trillion won) that SK invested to build the plant is the largest foreign investment ever in Georgia,” he said.
Last month, ITC judged that SK infringed on the battery trade secrets of LG Energy Solutions (formerly LG Chem’s battery business unit), and issued an order to SK to ban the import of some lithium-ion batteries for 10 years. Ford and Volkswagen, which were contracted with SK, only allowed imports for batteries and parts for production in the United States for a certain period of time.
Reporter Jang Joo-young [email protected]
