A secondary battery, sheathes a protection circuit board with a separate cover, connects the sheathed protection circuit board to a bare cell, and executes a molding or hard pack operation with a molding resin member in a space between the protection circuit board and the bare cell. The secondary battery may be constructed with a rechargeable bare cell, a protection circuit board supporting a protection circuit electrically connected to the bare cell and an external terminal, a board exterior cover adhering to the protection circuit board and the board exterior cover exposing the external terminal, and a first lead plate and a second lead plate that electrically connect the bare cell to the protection circuit board.