Former President Donald Trump reportedly engaged in 18 transactions involving Coupang Inc. shares, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), through a management firm between October 2022 and May 2023.
While the Trump administration maintained that the former president had no direct involvement in these transactions, the timing coincides with significant political pressure on South Korea regarding Coupang. This overlap raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) disclosed on the 4th that Trump initially purchased Coupang shares valued between 50,000 USD and 100,000 USD on October 9, 2022. He subsequently conducted 18 transactions exceeding 1,001 USD in buying and selling through May 2023.
The largest single transaction ranged between 100,001 USD and 250,000 USD. Due to the reporting system, which uses value ranges rather than exact figures, the precise total transaction amount remains unclear.
Current estimates suggest Trump holds approximately 100,000 USD worth of Coupang shares. One investment account lists Coupang shares valued between 50,001 USD and 100,000 USD, while another account shows two separate entries for Coupang shares worth between 1,001 USD and 15,000 USD each.
The exact profits from these Coupang transactions are also ambiguous. Given the market prices during the trading period and Coupang’s stock price fluctuations, it appears unlikely that significant profits were generated. In all three instances where Coupang share holdings were reported, profits were listed as either none or less than 201 USD.
The initial purchase in October 2025 preceded a major data breach incident at Coupang in mid-November, after which the company’s stock price on the NYSE began to decline sharply. Subsequently, political hearings regarding Coupang took place in South Korea in December. Early this year, U.S. political circles began criticizing the South Korean government’s alleged discriminatory treatment of American companies.
In February, the House Judiciary Committee conducted a closed-door inquiry with Harold Rogers, the interim representative of Coupang’s South Korean branch. On June 1, the committee released a report alleging discrimination against American companies by the South Korean government, citing Coupang as a primary example.