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Seoul (dpa) - The two South Korean car battery manufacturers SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution have settled a potentially serious legal dispute for electric car production in the USA.
Both companies announced the agreement in the two-year-long dispute on Sunday.
LG Energy Solution's parent company, LG Chem, sued SK Innovation (SKI) in the United States in April 2019 on charges of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets.
As a result of the dispute, the fulfillment of supply contracts between Volkswagen and Ford and SKI was also at risk.
In November 2018, Volkswagen found another supplier for the batteries of e-cars in SKI.
Volkswagen welcomed the agreement.
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According to the information, both South Korean companies want to withdraw all legal proceedings in South Korea and other countries in connection with e-car batteries and refrain from mutual lawsuits for the next few years.
SKI agreed to pay LG two trillion won in cash and in license fees.
Both companies also filed patent lawsuits against each other.
South Korea's Department of Commerce welcomed the agreement between the two companies, which came shortly before a US import ban on SKI products came into force.
The head of the Volkswagen Group of America, Scott Keogh, was pleased that both battery suppliers have settled their differences.
After the controversial questions have been resolved, VW is now concentrating on the start of US production of the fully electric SUV ID.4 in 2022.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) in the USA ruled in favor of LG in February.
The import of lithium-ion batteries by SKI should therefore be banned for ten years.
But SKI should be able to import batteries and parts for Ford's e-car production for four years and for Volkswagen's e-vehicles for two years.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210411-99-163042 / 2