Kevin Warsh (케빈 워시), a former Federal Reserve governor widely mentioned as a leading contender for the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has been confirmed to hold Coupang Inc shares worth 1.4 billion won.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Jan. 30 shows Warsh held 444,126 Coupang shares as of March last year. The stake was worth about $10.45 million based on the previous day’s closing price.

Warsh joined Coupang as an outside director in October 2019 and now chairs its governance committee. He received most of his compensation during his tenure as stock, in the form of restricted stock units, and in 2022 he directly bought about $1 million worth of shares with his own funds.

If Warsh becomes Fed chair, he is expected to need to resign from his Coupang board role and sell all his holdings or place them in a blind trust to prevent conflicts of interest.

Bloomberg previously reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had completed preparations to nominate Warsh as the next Fed chair. Trump met reporters at a Melania film premiere on the evening of Jan. 29 local time and said, "I will announce it on the morning of Jan. 30."

Warsh was also mentioned as a Fed chair candidate during the first Trump administration. He served as the youngest Fed governor at age 35 in 2006. He is classified as a hawk who emphasizes market autonomy.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is reviewing, at the request of Coupang investors, whether penalties imposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission and algorithm regulations violated the national treatment principle under the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. Major Coupang investors, including Greenoaks Capital, have submitted a notice of intent for arbitration under investor-state dispute settlement against the South Korean government.

If Warsh’s appointment as Fed chair becomes a reality, the possibility has also been raised that the South Korean government’s regulation of Coupang could emerge as a South Korea-U.S. trade issue.