South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer LG Chem has filed a complaint against SK Innovation with the International Trade Commission (ITC) of the US and the District Court of Delaware over allegations of infringement of trade secrets, according to Reuters.
LG Chem said it had requested the ITC to completely ban imports into the US of any SK Innovation products and samples relating to battery technology.
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It is also seeking compensation from its domestic rival through a lawsuit filed with the district court of Delaware which is where SK Innovation's US battery headquarters are located.
LG Chem said it also chose to file the lawsuit in the US because it is "harder to conceal evidence there".
LG Chem alleges it has found "specific evidence" key technologies relating to its EV batteries have been leaked to SK Innovation. It said it found that SK had poached 76 key employees from LG Chem from its R&D, production, quality management and sales operations since 2017 and that these had downloaded a combined 1,900 documents containing information on LG Chem's key technologies before they left the company.
LG Chem also criticized SK Innovation's recruitment process which it alleges requires applicants to provide the names of colleagues along with the specific technology and projects they have been involved with which the company claims has helped its competitor obtain confidential information.
The ITC is expected to rule on whether it will look into the case to ban imports of SK Innovation's products next month with a preliminary ruling expected to be made in the first half of next year.
