Key facts
- New U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel will depart for South Korea next week.
- Steel identified strengthening the Seoul-Washington alliance as her top priority.
- She made the announcement at an event for the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington.
- The ambassadorial position has been vacant since January 2025.
Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, announced on Thursday that she is scheduled to depart for Seoul next week. During an event in Washington marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC), Steel emphasized that strengthening the alliance between Seoul and Washington is her "top priority."
The KUSPC is a platform designed to facilitate South Korea's planned $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector. Steel's departure is anticipated around Wednesday of next week, as both nations are set to address several pending issues. These include the implementation of bilateral agreements on security and trade, as well as ongoing efforts to modernize the long-standing alliance.