A Korean firm fighting a US trade case paid Trump's company $2 million
Base Group, a key shareholder in the South Korean aluminium maker Korea Aluminium, paid Trump's holding company a $2 million nonrefundable development fee for an unannounced golf course while Korea Aluminium was fighting a Commerce Department circumvention case.
What happened
The president's disclosure records the $2,000,000 at line 267, received by Trump Acquisition, LLC against a letter of intent with Base Co. LTD. and booked as a non-refundable development fee; the filing gives no payment date, and the Washington Post reports the payment was made last year. The New York Times first reported the transaction. Base Group is a key shareholder in Korea Aluminium, one of several companies the Commerce Department has accused of circumventing duties on Chinese aluminium; the Senate Finance Committee's ranking member describes Korea Aluminium as Base Group's subsidiary. Base has sold Trump-branded wine in South Korea for nearly a decade and hosted Eric Trump at its Seoul headquarters in February 2026 to discuss increasing bilateral trade. The Trump Organization told the New York Times the payment is part of a golf course project that has not yet been announced; Base, Korea Aluminium, the Commerce Department and the Trump Organization did not respond to the Post's requests for comment.
Why it matters
The president's Commerce Department decides what Korea Aluminium owes, and his company took $2 million from the firm's key shareholder while the case was live. Commerce has since issued a preliminary finding that would tax Korea Aluminium's exports at 105 percent, nearly four times the current rate. Senator Ron Wyden has demanded that the Commerce Secretary account for the department's dealings with both companies. The White House says the investigation follows a "transparent, quasi-judicial process that is laid out in statute", and its spokesman Kush Desai said: "There are no conflicts of interest." The Post reports that no evidence has emerged that Trump or his family intervened in the investigation on behalf of either company.
Sources
OGE Form 278e (2025 annual), line 267; The Washington Post; Senate Finance (Wyden), washingtonpost.com, finance.senate.gov