The United States International Trade Commission said Sunday that it has accepted a request from SK Innovation to review a high-profile case between the company and LG Chem concerning the alleged theft of trade secrets.

The ITC said it would “review the initial determination in its entirety.” Previously, the ITC found that SK Innovation stole trade secrets about lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, in the process of recruiting former LG Chem employees since 2017.

Published Feb. 21, the initial determination made a default judgment in favor of LG Chem against SK Innovation, saying SK Innovation had intentionally tampered with evidence.

A default judgment occurs when a court rules in favor of the plaintiff because of the defendant’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities. In this case, the ITC said, SK Innovation intentionally impaired the investigation by deleting, moving, hiding and altering evidence.

However, it’s unclear whether the ITC will reverse its decision. Though all review requests filed from 2010 to 2018 have been accepted, the ITC upheld its initial determination in every case.

If the ITC upholds its ruling in October, SK Innovation will have to halt imports of EV batteries, parts and manufacturing equipment to the US.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)