The Korea Battery Industry Association (KIBA) held the Fifth Battery Industry Day event at the Josun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. Battery businesspeople at the event pledged that the public, private, and political sectors would form a solid "one team" to overcome global competition and achieve a commanding lead in batteries.
Kim Dong-myung, president of the Korea Battery Industry Association (KIBA) (chief executive of LG Energy Solution), said in his opening remarks, "We request active government support, as it is urgent to introduce a Korea-style IRA (a direct refundable investment tax credit system, production promotion tax system) so that domestic investment continues and a virtuous cycle of technological innovation and job creation can be achieved."
Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "The secondary battery industry is going through a difficult period due to factors such as a slowdown in electric vehicle demand and risks in the supply chain of critical minerals," and added, "To relaunch the industry, we need to develop leap-ahead technologies, diversify supply chains, and create new markets. The government will fully back the secondary battery industry so it can emerge from a long tunnel and take another step forward."
At this year's event, Park Jin, executive vice president of Samsung SDI, received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit. Park was recognized for contributions to strengthening the global standing of the battery industry and advancing the national economy, including leading the development of high–energy density electric-vehicle batteries and standardizing ESS safety, which elevated Samsung SDI's battery technology to the world's top tier. Park was credited with developing and commercializing, for the first time in the world in the EV battery field, high–energy density, long-life batteries that enable a 600 km driving range on a single charge and 20-minute fast charging, leading to large-scale orders from global finished-car corporations.
The Industrial Service Medal went to Jang Sung-gyun, president of L&F. Jang was credited with contributing to strengthening the global standing of Korea's battery materials industry and building supply-chain self-reliance by leading the development of high-nickel cathode materials and expanding exports. Oh Seung-mo, chief technology advisor at MinTech and an emeritus professor at Seoul National University, received the presidential commendation for contributions to basic research on lithium secondary batteries, core technology development for all-solid-state batteries, talent development, and industry-academia-research collaboration..
Seventeen people, including Choi Seok-won, a center head at LG Energy Solution who led the establishment of global production bases and local joint ventures (JV), and Kim Jeom-su, a professor at Dong-A University who devoted more than 20 years to research and development and commercialization in the battery field and to nurturing talent, also received commendations from the prime minister and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.