[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] LGU+ and Kakao Mobility have crossed the last hurdle to enter the electric vehicle charging market. The Fair Trade Commission approved a corporate combination for the establishment of a joint venture between the two companies on the 29th. LGU+ and Kakao Mobility plan to improve services in the domestic electric vehicle charging market by linking communication infrastructure with mobility platform operation know-how.
The Fair Trade Commission approved the business combination, judging that there is a low possibility of restrictions on competition for joint ventures that LGU+ and Kakao Mobility want to establish for the electric vehicle charging business. The joint venture takes over the existing LGU+ charging business and enters the market, with LG Uplus' market share of only 1.1% as of July last year. Kakao Mobility's average monthly brokerage market share last year was 17.84%, ranking fourth. "We believe that the joint venture will be able to enter the charging market and further promote the launch of innovative services and price competition," an FTC official said.
Earlier, LGU+ and Kakao Mobility signed a joint venture agreement for the electric vehicle charging business in June last year. The two companies invested about 25 billion won to establish a joint venture, with a stake of 50％ each. LGU+ takes one more week than Kakao Mobility, which acquired 10 million shares and acquired 10 million shares. Accordingly, the joint venture will be included in LG Uplus' subsidiary subject to connection.
Hyun Joon-yong, vice president of the LGU+ EV charging business, has been named the CEO of the joint venture. It is predicted that Kakao Mobility developer Park Soon-young will take charge of the chief technology officer (CTO) in charge of technology development and co-management will take place.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
