Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- SK Innovation will sue its domestic rival, LG Chem, in the United States for patent infringement as a legal battle between the key units of South Korea's two major business groups over original technology for electric vehicle batteries went unabated despite calls for compromise and cooperation to thwart a challenge from foreign competitors.

SK Innovation (SKI), a subsidiary of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, said it would file a complaint against LG Chem and its American subsidiary, LG Chem Michigan, with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the federal court as well as a similar suit against LG Electronics.

SKI claimed that LG units have infringed on patents in lithium-ion batteries. "The complaint is a legitimate lawsuit to protect core technologies and intellectual property," SKI's battery business head Yoon Ye-sun said in a statement on Friday, adding his company had refrained from legal action, although it was aware of alleged patent infringement.

Finally, SKI has decided to file a lawsuit "because it could not wait any longer after holding off for the development of the industrial ecosystem and the people's wish that domestic companies should contribute to economic development through good competition," Yoon said. SKI accused LG Chem and LG Electronics of earning unfair profits through patent infringement.

Initially, SKI, a latecomer in the global battery market, took a passive and defensive attitude when LG Chem launched an unexpected offensive with a legal battle in the United States for stealing technologies.

In late April, LG Chem asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban SKI batteries in the American market and filed a lawsuit with a district court in Delaware, accusing SKI of producing batteries with technologies leaked by transferred employees. 

Initially, SKI, a latecomer in the global battery market, took a passive and defensive attitude, but the company changed its attitude later, blasting LG Chem for hurting national interests by bringing a dispute over intellectual property rights to a U.S. court.  

LG Chem fumed at SKI's action, saying dialogue is possible only when SKI admits wrongdoing, makes a sincere apology and discuss compensation measures. "So far, we have refrained from taking legal action against patent rights, but if SK Innovation continues the act of glossing over the nature of things, we will not condone it and even consider taking legal action against patents."

The two companies have made aggressive investments to expand battery production. In July, LG Chem envisaged a sweeping change in its business structure to become a major global player in electric vehicle batteries.