EcoPro Co., the holding company of South Korea’s leading cathode materials manufacturer EcoPro Group, has applied for membership in the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country‘s major business lobby group.

According to sources from the business circle on Thursday, EcoPro recently submitted an application for FKI membership. The business lobby group plans to make a decision after board deliberation. EcoPro is likely to be approved for membership.

FKI membership is open to companies that agree with the organization’s founding purpose of promoting a market economy and creating a favorable environment for business.

EcoPro posted 4.82 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in sales in the first half of this year. With a market capitalization of 29.5 trillion won, the company is the second-largest company on the secondary Kosdaq market.

EcoPro’s subsidiary, EcoPro BM Co., ranks first in market capitalization on the Kosdaq market, with 31.2 trillion won.

In April, EcoPro Group was designated as a group of companies subject to mandatory disclosure of corporate governance reports, joining the ranks of conglomerates. Its fair assets stood at 6.94 trillion won at the end of last year, ranking 62nd in the business circle.

“We applied to join the FKI in line with our elevated status,” said an EcoPro official. “We will strengthen our competitiveness in battery materials by utilizing the global network established by the FKI, such as the Korea-U.S. Business Council.”

The FKI, in the meantime, is actively pursuing external expansion efforts, including promoting the membership of the country’s four major conglomerates ? Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG.

Last month, the FKI sent a letter to the four major groups asking them to join the organization.

At an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for August 22, the FKI plans to address matters related to merging with the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) and changing the organization‘s Korean name.

Samsung Group will discuss joining the FKI at its corporate compliance monitoring committee meeting on Friday. SK and LG are considering joining the organization, while Hyundai Motor said it has not yet made a decision. POSCO Holdings Inc., the parent of Korea’s biggest steelmaker POSCO, is seeking to submit an application for membership.

By Chung Seung-hwan and Yoon Yeon-hae

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