SK and LG Settle 2-Year Battery Dispute

SK and LG have reached a multi-billion settlement to get rid of a legal dispute found in the U.S. which has dragged on for the last 2 yrs and threatened the future of a half-built SK electric battery factory there.

SK Innovation can pay LG Energy Alternative W1 trillion in money and another W1 trillion in royalties (US$1=W1,121). The agreement came just a day time before U.S. President Joe Biden was to select vetoing a ruling by the International Trade Commission that bans SK from importing rechargeable automotive batteries in to the U.S. for 10 years.

The settlement effectively voids the ITC's ruling and allows SK to continue establishing the battery factory in the U.S. state of Georgia.

The two companies in a joint statement on Sunday said they "will halt all litigation both outside and inside Korea and avoid taking legal action for the next 10 years."

SK Creativity president Kim Jun and LG Strength Remedy president Kim Jong-hyun said, "We made a decision to take part in healthy competition and amicable cooperation for the advancement of the Korean and U.S. battery industries. We particularly made a decision to make joint work in the Biden administration's drive to bolster battery supply networks and eco-friendly plans."

SK Invention president Kim Jun (6th from kept) and then-U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (following to Kim) shovel dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony for SK Innovation's electrical car electric battery plant in Georgia, in this record picture from March 10, 2019. /Courtesy of SK Innovation

U.S. government mediation played a key function in the last-minute arrangement. Washington wants to protected a stable supply of rechargeable batteries and develop careers by having both SK and LG plant life in America.

President Joe Biden found in a declaration on Sunday said the agreement is "a gain for American staff and the American vehicle industry."

The dispute were only available in April 2019 when LG reported SK to the ICT for stealing its battery patents. It had been the first major lawsuit filed overseas between two Korean conglomerates and induced jitters in the global vehicle industry.