SK clarifies plans not to accept LG demand
Lee Myeong-young, senior member of SK Innovation board committee, speaks during this year's annual shareholders meeting at SK Group's headquarters in downtown Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
A senior executive at SK Innovation (SKI), the battery affiliate of SK Group, has reiterated that it would not accept the demand from LG Energy Solution (LGES) to possibly settle a blockbuster legal battle that could jeopardize SKI's business in the United States.
“I would say it's still unclear what types of intellectual property was stolen from LGES' standpoint from the final verdict by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). For SKI's side, the ITC's final decision is regrettable as the commission accepted claims raised by LGES, which we think are ambiguous,” Lee Myeong-young, a senior member of SKI's board committee, told shareholders at the company's shareholders meeting held in downtown Seoul, Friday.
Stressing the safety of SKI-manufactured batteries, Lee said SKI will try hard to protect the best interests of its shareholders and boost corporate value from the forthcoming legal procedures related to the dispute. “Let's be clear that it's unacceptable for us if our competitor's offer will significantly cripple SKI's business competitiveness in the United States,” Lee said.
SKI plans to move forward with constructing a battery plant worth $2.6 billion in the U.S. state of Georgia if U.S. President Joe Biden does not use a 60-day presidential review period to overturn the decision.
The USITC ruled in favor of LGES over SKI by admitting that LGES' intellectual property in batteries was stolen. The US ITC ruling allowed some exemptions, permitting SKI to import components for domestic production of batteries for Ford's EV F-150 program for four years, and for Volkswagen America's MEB electric vehicle line for two years.
LGES said it was seeking 3 trillion won in monetary compensation from SKI by saying the compensation type will vary from equity swap, cash and royalties. SKI said it can't accept LG's offer as it still believes it didn't steal LGES' intellectual property.
The USTR is reviewing the specifics of the USITC's final ruling until April 11, and will report its final assessment of the case to President Biden. Citing SKI's investment and hiring plans in Georgia, SKI is asking Biden to veto or alter the USITC decision.
Hours after SKI's shareholders meeting, LGES said in a statement asking SKI to open up the specifics of lists included in the USITC's final ruling. “USITC clarified in its final ruling that 22 LGES trade secrets were stolen, while SKI was intentionally involved in erasing relevant evidence,” according to the LGES statement.
“Such specifics are only accessible to legal representatives of each side. If SKI accepts our request, then that will help both of us determine precisely which trade secrets were stolen and used.”