Wash, Nominee for US Fed Chair, Sells Coupang Stock Ahead of Inauguration…Also Resigns from Board

Wash, Nominee for US Fed Chair, Sells Coupang Stock Ahead of Inauguration…Also Resigns from Board

Reports selling 102,000 shares…Appears to be the first partial sale out of 459,000 shares held

Kevin Warsh, the nominee for chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), has begun a large-scale sale of shares in Coupang Inc., the parent company of Coupang, prior to his inauguration.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 16th (local time), Warsh reported that he would sell 102,363 shares of Coupang's Class A common stock that he held.

The shares being sold this time are Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that Warsh received in four installments as compensation for his board activities from August 2021 to June 2025. The market value of the shares expected to be sold, according to the filing, is $1,681,998 (approximately 2.52 billion won).

This sale of Coupang stock is interpreted as a measure to eliminate potential conflicts of interest upon assuming the Fed chairmanship.

The Fed's ethics regulations prohibit the chairman and board members from holding shares in individual companies.

However, Warsh's holdings of Coupang stock amount to approximately 459,000 shares, meaning this sale represents about 22.3% of his total holdings.

It appears he chose a partial sale to minimize the impact on the stock market, and additional sale announcements for the remaining shares are expected to follow.

Warsh had served as a director of Coupang since October 2019 but resigned from the board on the 13th after being confirmed by the Senate as the Fed chairman.

Coupang explained in its disclosure that Warsh's resignation was due to his assumption of the Fed chairmanship, emphasizing that it was "not due to any disagreement regarding the company's operations, policies, or practices."

Warsh, who is also the son-in-law of Ronald Lauder, heir to cosmetics company Estée Lauder, is considered the wealthiest among past Fed chairs.

According to asset disclosure details released in April, his and his spouse's jointly held assets amount to at least $200 million (approximately 300 billion won).