US President Donald Trump made two trades involving Coupang shares in June through his money managers, according to a financial disclosure report released Friday, as tensions continued between Seoul and Washington over South Korea’s regulatory response to a major data breach involving the US-listed e-commerce company.
The report, filed with the US Office of Government Ethics and released on Aug. 22, showed that Trump sold Coupang shares worth between US$1,001 and US$15,000 on June 3.
He then purchased Coupang shares worth between US$15,001 and US$50,000 on June 24.
Trump’s Coupang trades draw attention
The latest disclosure follows earlier financial reports showing that Trump made 18 trades involving Coupang shares between Oct. 9 and May 22 through two investment accounts.
The transactions have drawn attention as criticism from the US has increased over how South Korean authorities handled the Coupang data breach.
In July, the House Judiciary Committee issued an interim staff report accusing the South Korean government of carrying out “discriminatory attacks” against Coupang and other American-owned businesses.
The committee report also claimed that Coupang had been a “consistent target”.
White House raises concerns over Coupang
Following the committee’s report, a White House official said Coupang was being “singled out” by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The official expressed concern over what was described as the “discriminatory” targeting of the company.
The developments have placed Trump’s Coupang share transactions in the spotlight amid the continuing tensions between Seoul and Washington over South Korea’s regulatory response to the data breach.
