U.S. President Donald Trump bought and sold Coupang shares 18 times through an asset manager from Oct. last year to May this year, records show. With confirmation that the president holds shares in Coupang, a party to U.S.-Korea trade issues, some noted it could raise potential conflict-of-interest concerns.
According to Trump's recently released financial disclosure by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), he made a total of 18 trades in Coupang common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange through two investment accounts from Oct. last year to May this year.
The records show that Trump purchased Coupang shares twice on Oct. 9 last year, followed by an additional buy on the 16th of the same month. He then sold multiple times in Oct. and Nov. last year, before switching back to buying in Dec.
This year, after unloading part of his holdings in Jan., he returned to large-scale buying in Feb., and the last transactions were two sales on May 18 and 22.
The OGE disclosure shows ranges instead of exact transaction amounts. Applying the maximum within those ranges, Trump is estimated to have increased his Coupang holdings to as much as about $280,000 after Oct. last year, then sold some in May, and now holds up to about $130,000 (about 200 million won).
The same stock's transactions appear split into multiple entries because two investment accounts were managed separately.
In the OGE filing's "Other Assets and Income" section, one investment account lists Coupang common stock valued at $51,000–$100,000, while another account lists two entries of Coupang common stock valued at $1,001–$15,000 each.
It is not clear whether Trump actually realized revenue from his Coupang investment. Last year's transactions were concentrated when Coupang's share price was falling amid a personal data leak controversy, and in Feb. this year, when large purchases were made, the stock was around $18, but by the May sale it had fallen to about $15, suggesting a possible loss. The OGE filing also marked the investment's income as "none or $201 or less."
Trump has maintained that he does not directly involve himself in managing his investment accounts, which are independently run by an external manager.
Even so, with U.S.-Korea trade tensions over Coupang continuing, some noted that the U.S. president holding Coupang shares could lead to conflict-of-interest controversy.
Indeed, this year, U.S. political circles repeatedly claimed that the Korean government is discriminating against U.S. platform corporations such as Coupang, and in Feb., the U.S. House held closed-door testimony related to Coupang. Then on the 1st, the House Judiciary Committee released a report alleging that the Korean government discriminates against U.S. companies.
Relationships between key foreign affairs and trade officials in the Trump administration and Coupang were also confirmed through financial disclosures.
Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), reported receiving $10,000 in speaking and advisory fees from Coupang in 2024 while serving as a partner at the law firm King & Spalding. During the same period, he received $20,000 from Hyundai Motor for the same purpose.
Vice Minister Ellison Hooker at the State Department also reported providing consulting services to Coupang and receiving compensation before taking office. The exact amount was not disclosed, but it met the reporting threshold of $5,000 or more per year. Hooker reported providing similar advice to SK, POSCO, Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics as well as Coupang.