It has been confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump traded shares of Coupang, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, 18 times between October of last year and May of this year.

President Trump has held and traded Coupang common stock in two of his investment accounts. While the scale is minimal relative to his total assets, the face value of the remaining shares is estimated to be up to $130,000.

President Trump's stock trades during his term have been conducted through investment managers, and he has stated that he is not involved in the management of his investment accounts at all.

However, the fact that a sitting U.S. president holds a financial interest in a company that is a party to significant diplomatic and trade issues between South Korea and the U.S. leaves room for controversy regarding a conflict of interest.

The financial disclosure documents recently released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) include details of President Trump's Coupang stock trades from October of last year to May of this year.

On October 9 of last year, President Trump purchased Coupang shares in two separate transactions, valued at between $1,001 and $15,000, and between $50,001 and $100,000, respectively. On October 16 of the same year, he made an additional purchase valued between $1,001 and $15,000.

President Trump sold Coupang shares valued between $15,001 and $50,000 on October 16 of last year. He subsequently sold shares valued between $15,001 and $50,000 and between $1,001 and $15,000 on November 10, and an additional amount between $1,001 and $15,000 on November 17.

On December 11 of last year, President Trump repurchased Coupang shares valued between $1,001 and $15,000 and between $50,001 and $100,000, and bought an additional $1,001 to $15,000 worth on December 18.

Entering this year, President Trump sold Coupang shares valued between $1,001 and $15,000 and between $50,001 and $100,000 on January 12, and sold an additional $1,001 to $15,000 worth on January 21.

President Trump bought Coupang shares again on February 12, with values between $100,001 and $250,000 and between $1,001 and $15,000, and purchased an additional $1,001 to $15,000 worth on February 23.

The final recorded transactions were in May, with sales of shares valued between $15,001 and $50,000 on May 18, and between $50,001 and $100,000 on May 22.

After repeatedly buying and selling shares worth up to $130,000 since October of last year, the remaining holdings are estimated at a maximum of approximately $130,000 following the purchases in February (up to $280,000) and sales in May (up to $150,000).

The fact that purchases and sales of the same stock were split into multiple transactions appears to be because the funds were managed across two separate investment accounts.

In the "Other Assets and Income" section of President Trump's OGE report, Coupang common stock is listed in Investment Account ⑦ as valued between $50,001 and $100,000 (item 306), and in Investment Account ⑧ as two entries (items 1141 and 1142) valued between $1,001 and $15,000 each.

It is unclear how much profit President Trump made from these Coupang stock trades, but given that the trades occurred during a period when the stock price fell significantly due to the "Coupang incident" last year, it is estimated that the returns were not high.

This year, the stock price was around $18 per share in early February when the largest purchases were made, and it fell to the $15 range in May when the sales occurred, suggesting the possibility of a negative return.

Investment Account ⑦ item 306 and Investment Account ⑧ items 1141 and 1142, which contain the Coupang stock holdings, are all marked as having "no income or income of $201 or less from investments."

It remains unclear whether the "conflict of interest" issue regarding specific administration policies, which has been controversial in President Trump's major stock trades, applies to the Coupang stock.

President Trump's buying and selling of Coupang stock (mid-October to mid-November last year) coincided with the period leading up to the announcement of Coupang's data breach incident, and his repurchases (mid-December last year) occurred when the "Coupang hearing" in South Korea began to attract attention in the U.S. as well.

Starting in January, claims began to emerge from U.S. political circles that the South Korean government was treating Coupang in a discriminatory manner, and in February, private testimony regarding Coupang was held before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

On the 1st of this month, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report stating that the South Korean government has been treating U.S. companies, including Coupang, in a discriminatory manner.

However, as the U.S. administration and Congress intensify pressure on South Korea regarding the Coupang issue, some point out that the very fact that Coupang stock is included in President Trump's asset portfolio is not unrelated to a conflict of interest in a broader sense.

Furthermore, while they did not trade stocks like President Trump, key diplomatic and trade officials in the Trump administration were found to have received compensation for providing lectures or consulting services to Coupang.

Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the official in charge of the Coupang issue, reported receiving a $10,000 honorarium for a lecture and consulting from Coupang on May 17, 2024, while he was a partner at the law firm King & Spalding.

Greer also received $20,000 from Hyundai Motor Company for the same purpose at that time.

Allison Hooker, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, who plays a key role in the Trump administration's diplomacy toward South Korea, was also found to have received compensation for providing consulting services to Coupang before taking office.

Although the specific amount was not disclosed in the financial disclosure, reporting regulations require disclosure for amounts of $5,000 or more per year.

Hooker also received compensation for the same purpose from SK, POSCO, Hyundai Motor Company, and Samsung Electronics.

Hooker served as a Senior Vice President at American Global Strategies (AGS), chaired by Robert O'Brien (former National Security Advisor in the first Trump administration), who has been critical of South Korea's platform regulations, and Coupang was a client of AGS.
 

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)