The Seoul Central District Court dismissed SK Innovation’s request for withdrawal of the lawsuit as well as its request for damages. The company said it will immediately appeal the decision.

 

SK Innovation argued that the two companies agreed at the time not to take any legal action against each other over the separator patent. It said LG Chem violated the agreement by filing a patent infringement complaint against it with the International Trade Commission (ITC). It demanded that LG Chem drop the complaint and pay it 1 billion won in compensation.

 

The court, however, ruled in favor of LG Chem, saying that the patent subject to the agreement is limited to a Korean patent (KR310 patent).

 

SK Innovation refused to accept the ruling and declared that it would appeal to a higher court. "It is against the spirit of the agreement to raise the issue again five years later based on the wording of the agreement,” the company said.

 

The starting point of the lawsuit between the two companies was a business secret infringement complaint filed by LG Chem with the ITC in early 2019. The ITC decided a default judgment against SK Innovation in February.

 

Following the court ruling, LG Chem urged SK Innovation to come up with a reasonable offer that can make shareholders and investors understand. "If SK Innovation does not show a sincere attitude to resolve the dispute, we will faithfully carry out legal procedures at the ITC and U.S. courts to protect our core battery technology," LG Chem said.

 

LG Chem welcomed the verdict, saying that it will keep pressure on SK Innovation. On the other hand, SK Innovation is seeking to prepare for civil lawsuits after USITC makes its final judgment.

 

The dispute between the two isn’t expected to end anytime soon and will be prolonged, as they can’t agree on the right settlement.