[사설]LG wins battery dispute, needs to find a reasonable solution through dialogue

In the’electric vehicle battery trade secret infringement lawsuit’ filed by LG Energy Solutions against SK Innovation on the 10th (local time) by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), SK Innovation acknowledged the infringement of trade secrets in the US. It was ruled to ban all imports. If President Joe Biden does not exercise his veto during the 60-day presidential deliberation period, the ruling will take effect immediately.

Until now, very few cases have been vetoed by the US president of the ITC’s ruling. Therefore, the industry’s attention is focused on whether the two companies will agree during the 60-day deliberation period. The two companies are paying attention to the agreement because the ruling is broad and the battery is important as the future food industry in Korea.

The global market for electric vehicle batteries is estimated to be about 215 trillion won by 2030. The two companies and three Korean companies, including Samsung SDI, were competitive enough to account for 34.7% of the global market last year. LG Energy Solutions, which competes for the No. 1 market share with Chinese CATL, is evaluated as the world’s No. 1 in technology. SK Innovation is also aiming for a global leader by building factories in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do and Georgia, USA. However, Chinese and Japanese companies are struggling to check and the’European Battery Union’ is also self-sufficient in the region. In the dispute between the two companies, not only the interests of the US state governments but also the supply chain configuration issues with automakers such as Volkswagen, Ford and Kia are complicated. If the dispute between the two companies flows into an irrelevant quarrel of pride, only foreign companies may gain the fisherman’s geography (漁父之利). These worst consequences should be somehow avoided. In foreign countries, there are cases of disputes between global companies of the same nationality. However, strategic alliances or compromises are common in key issues that will determine the future of the country. The most important thing is to operate a dialogue channel that allows you to give and receive opinions openly with the right to make decisions. Reasonable solutions that both companies can’win-win’ can only be found through honest dialogue.