[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] Eom Ki-cheon, Chairman of the Korea Battery Industry Association (CEO of POSCO FUTURE M), emphasized that the government should introduce a direct refund system for its domestic production promotion tax incentive program to ensure that companies operating at a loss can also receive benefits. He pointed out that while the battery industry is showing signs of recovery, a significant number of materials and components companies are still operating at a loss, meaning that tax credits alone have their limitations in providing support.

Prior to the “6th Battery Industry Day” ceremony held at the Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 29th, Chairman Eom met with reporters and stated, “The introduction of a tax incentive to promote domestic production is good news for the rechargeable battery industry and a meaningful step forward,” but added, “While the three major cell manufacturers are posting profits thanks to improved performance, many of our member companies remain in the red.”

He continued, “The association is also giving serious consideration to the direct refund system,” and added, “We will take the lead in working with the National Assembly and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to ensure our member companies receive direct support.”

Regarding the battery industry’s business conditions, he assessed that it has not yet entered a full recovery phase. Chairman Eom said, “While cell manufacturers have been turning a profit since the second and third quarters, materials and parts companies are still reporting losses,” adding, “It is difficult to say that a full recovery has occurred.”

However, he viewed the boom in the energy storage system (ESS) market and the growth of the European electric vehicle (EV) market positively. He explained, “Although the U.S. EV market experienced a ‘chasm’ (temporary stagnation in demand), the ESS market—driven by AI data centers and other sectors—has been booming, which has benefited the domestic battery industry.” He added, “The European EV market is also showing growth of over 20–30%, so we expect the positive impact on cell manufacturers’ earnings to trickle down to the lower tiers of the industry.”

He also expressed confidence in POSCO FUTURE M’s earnings recovery. Chairman Eom stated, “Electric vehicle projects that had been suspended or put on hold since the second half of last year have begun to resume,” adding, “We have signed supply contracts for approximately 1.5 million metric tons of cathode materials to date, and including additional contracts of about 1.2 million metric tons expected by year-end, we anticipate total orders of around 2.7 million metric tons.”

He went on to forecast, “Starting in the second half of next year, shipment volumes and plant utilization rates will rise, and sales will begin to increase in earnest starting in 2028.”

Meanwhile, regarding the controversy over the association’s internal organizational operations, he said, “We have been conducting an organizational assessment through an external agency for the past two to three months,” adding, “Once the comprehensive results are released next month, we will fairly evaluate the merits and demerits and push forward with reforms—such as organizational restructuring—in accordance with established principles.” The association had previously been criticized during a parliamentary audit for allegedly inflating government R&D personnel costs by falsely registering non-R&D employees as R&D researchers. Prior to that, allegations had been raised regarding the personal misuse of corporate credit cards and false business trips, and claims emerged that employees identified as having reported evidence of misconduct to the media were placed on administrative leave—a move described as “retaliatory personnel action.”ㅇㄱ