Stepping up Pressure on SK Innovation for Agreement
LG Chem has filed an additional complaint with the prosecution against SK Innovation for encroaching on its trade secrets and stealing human resources. The move came one year after LG Chem first filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency regarding the matter.
LG Chem said it filed an additional complaint against SK Innovation in June simply to urge the prosecution to accelerate its investigation into the matter. “We filed a complaint a year ago, we want prosecutors to get the facts straight quickly,” a company official said. “We just submitted a letter of opinion that did not specify the name of the accused.”
In May 2019, LG Chem filed a complaint with the police against SK Innovation for violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act. The International Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided SK Innovation's head office in Seoul and the research institute and factory in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, in September 2019.
Battery industry insiders believe that LG Chem, which won a favorable ruling from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), is stepping up pressure on SK Innovation for a quick agreement. The two companies are known to have a significant gap regarding the settlement money, which could range from 500 billion won to trillions of won.