Key facts
- Michelle Steel, the new U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, will arrive in Seoul on Thursday.
- Steel was nominated by President Donald Trump in April and confirmed by the U.S. Senate last month.
- The ambassadorial post has been vacant since January last year.
- Steel is expected to submit her credentials to the foreign ministry next week.
- Steel, a Korean American Republican, previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Thursday, according to sources. Her arrival marks the first time a U.S. envoy has taken up the post since President Donald Trump returned to office. Steel is expected to land at Incheon International Airport at approximately 3:20 p.m. after departing from Los Angeles.
Steel's nomination occurred in April, with confirmation from the U.S. Senate following last month. The position of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea has been vacant since Philip Goldberg departed in January of the previous year. The submission of her credentials to the foreign ministry's chief of protocol is anticipated as early as next week, pending the return of Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and the ministry's chief of protocol from their trip with President Lee Jae Myung to South America.
A Korean American Republican politician, Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and later immigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s. She represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms, from 2020 to 2024. Steel is the second Korean American to hold the top U.S. diplomatic post in South Korea, following Sung Kim, who served from 2011 to 2014.
In a statement to Yonhap News Agency last week, Steel emphasized that strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance is her "top priority." Her arrival comes at a time when Seoul and Washington are addressing several key security and economic matters, including South Korean investments in the U.S., civilian nuclear cooperation, Seoul's interest in developing nuclear-powered submarines, and ongoing efforts to modernize their long-standing alliance.
While some progressive civic groups in South Korea have expressed criticism of Steel due to her conservative political stance, South Korean government officials have indicated that she possesses a strong understanding of the alliance's importance and is committed to collaboration. A foreign ministry official noted the wide range of issues requiring joint efforts between South Korea and the U.S. amid a dynamic security and economic landscape, welcoming Steel's arrival as a means to advance discussions on these matters.