LG and SK settle EV battery dispute
12-04-2021
25-08-2020
LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation have resolved a multibillion dollar trade secrets dispute over electric vehicle (EV) batteries, sidestepping a USITC decision that would have barred SK from importing its batteries into the US.
In a joint statement from the two South Korean companies, LG and SK announced they will be dropping all litigation and have signed a non-assertion agreement covering the US or South Korea for the next ten years.
As part of the agreement, SK will pay LG ₩2 trillion ($1.8 billion), comprising several lump-sum payments as well as running royalty fees.
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LG, SK should play fair to lead market together
LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation agreed Sunday to settle a dispute over the theft of trade secrets, ending the two-year-long legal battle. The agreement is welcome, though belated. It will benefit all relevant parties, including the respective Korean companies. It is also a win for the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden.
The two firms have decided to drop all lawsuits here and abroad and not to file other suits for the next 10 years. According to the deal, SK will pay a settlement of 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) ― 1 trillion won over the next two years and 1 trillion won via royalties ― to LG. In return, SK will be able to go ahead with its battery business in Georgia, the U.S. The settlement is seen as a win-win compromise. It will also help the Biden administration avoid losing jobs and disrupting battery supply chains, while protecting intellectual property rights for firms active in the U.S.
EV-battery maker SK Innovation’s shares surge after settlement with rival brightens U.S. prospects Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee SEOUL Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Shares in South Korean auto battery maker SK Innovation Co Ltd soared on Monday after it buried the hatchet with LG Energy Solution, freeing up both firms to expand in the United States, where electric cars have become a Biden administration priority.
AP source: Electric vehicle battery firms settle trade spat
MATTHEW DALY and TOM KRISHER, Associated Press
April 10, 2021
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FILE - This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows the corporate logo of LG Electronics in Goyang, South Korea. Two South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to move ahead with plans to make batteries in Georgia. That s according to a person briefed on the matter. The person says LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation reached the settlement, ending the need for President Joe Biden to intervene.Lee Jin-man/AP
WASHINGTON (AP) Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to move ahead with plans to make batteries in Georgia, a person briefed on the matter says.