[Exclusive] 'World's No.1 Battery' Chinese CATL Establishes Korean Headquarters... Begins Full-Scale Absorption of 'High-Level Talent'

CATL establishes Korean subsidiary,
recruiting personnel in HR, sales, and legal fields
Aiming to bypass US trade barriers and secure talent and industrial technology

China's Ningde Shidai (CATL), the world's number one battery company, is accelerating its entry into the Korean market. It is speeding up preparations for market entry by hiring legal professionals for early response as well as sales and marketing personnel. As it is highly likely to compete directly with domestic battery companies in the Korean market, attention is focused on the impact it will have on the market.

According to the battery industry on the 16th, CATL plans to establish a corporation in Chungnam to respond to demand in the Asian region. Chungnam is a battery industry cluster where domestic battery companies' production plants and material suppliers' facilities are concentrated, including Samsung SDI (Cheonan) and SK On (Seosan).

Reuters Yonhap News

CATL's consideration of the Chungnam region appears to be a strategy that takes into account the future establishment of production facilities. This area is judged to be suitable for setting up production facilities later because local governments actively support research and development (R&D) budgets, such as the creation of next-generation battery research centers, and infrastructure such as power supply is adequate.

Since last month, CATL has been actively recruiting experienced personnel in sales, marketing, and human resources (HR). They are subdividing the energy storage system (ESS) sector and recruiting sales staff with relevant experience, as well as legal experts familiar with Korea's Fair Trade Act, Labor Law, and Company Law to handle market entry and early establishment responses.

The company is expected to target the domestic market with its flagship products, such as prismatic LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries. In particular, it is expected to actively enter the ESS sector, which is about to blossom following the approval of the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (Jeon-gibon) on February 2. According to SNE Research, as of last year, CATL's global ESS battery market share was 29.5%, significantly surpassing domestic companies like Samsung SDI (3.2%) and LG Energy Solution (2.8%).

Industry insiders believe that CATL will consider establishing a production corporation in Korea in the future to secure engineers and circumvent trade barriers. Choi Jong-seo, Executive Director of the Korea Battery Industry Association, said, "With the approval of Jeon-gibon, the ESS market is opening domestically, and sales of Chinese batteries could become active," adding, "Since Chinese batteries cannot target the U.S. market, they have entered Korea as part of actively developing overseas markets including Europe." Another industry official explained, "CATL's entry into Korea should be seen as an attempt to bypass U.S. trade barriers against China," and added, "Incidentally, they will hire and absorb high-level engineers whose demand and treatment are weaker compared to China, and also pursue securing industrial technologies such as safety technology."

Meanwhile, since establishing its first overseas corporation in Germany in 2014, CATL has accelerated its global market expansion by setting up its first overseas production base in Erfurt, Germany in 2018. It is building LFP battery plants in Hungary and Spain and has also entered the U.S., France, Japan, and Indonesia in the form of offices and subsidiaries.