Decision delayed in legal dispute with SK Innovation

Thousands of jobs, billions of dollars at stake in Georgia.

A federal agency has postponeduntilDecemberadecision on whether a Korean company that’s building a multibillion- dollar battery plant in JacksonCounty stole a rival’s trade secrets.

The U. S. International Trade Commission said that it will issue a ruling in the legal dispute onDec. 10. The ruling had been expected on Monday, and the Washingtonbased panel did not provide a reason for the delay. Thecommission’s ruling can be appealed.

Thecase couldhave ahuge impact on one of the largest economic development projects in state history. South Korea’s SK Innovation plans to open a $ 2.6 billion factory that will make batteries for electricvehiclesmadebyFord andVolkswagen. Georgiagave thecompany $ 300million in grants, free land and other incentives.

AnotherSouthKoreancompany, LGChem, suedSKInnovation lastyear. LGChemsaid about 100 of its employees were hiredbySKInnovations in order for the company to gain access to proprietary battery technology.

State officials warned the ITC that Georgia could lose thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments if SK loses the case. In the worst- casescenario, someofficialshave said that SKmay be forcedtoabandontheproject.

SK “remains confident in the merits of our case and that the final outcome will be in our favor,” spokesmanJoe GuyCollier said inanemailed statement.

Likewise, Bert Reiser, an attorney for LG Chem, said his client expects a favorable ruling that “will holdSKInnovation responsible for their theft and issue appropriate remedies to make LG Chem whole.”

Federal authorities have arrestedunauthorizedKorean immigrants at the construction site in two separate incidents this year.