By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) -Shares of SK Innovation Co rose 16.8% while LG Chem Ltd shares rose 4.1% on Monday after the South Korean battery makers agreed on a 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) dispute settlement over electric-vehicle (EV) battery technology.
LG Energy Solution, a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem, and SK Innovation also agreed on Sunday to drop all litigation in the United States and South Korea and not to sue each other for 10 years, after the core dispute had threatened the EV plans of Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG.
Ford said in a statement on Sunday that it was pleased the battery makers have settled their differences, and that the agreement allowed Ford to focus on delivering EVs for retail and fleet customers.
Shares in SK Innovation had fallen 19.7% since Feb. 11, when U.S. International Trade Commission sided with LG Chem on the trade secrets case.
The wider market was up 0.1%.
($1 = 1,121.4100 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry Doyle)