New U.S. Ambassador Michelle Park Steel Submits Credentials, Meets Foreign Minister Cho
Key Takeaways
- •Michelle Park Steel formally began her duties as U.S. ambassador to South Korea by submitting credentials to the Foreign Ministry and meeting with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
- •Steel is the second Korean American to serve in the ambassador role and was confirmed by the Senate after being nominated by President Donald Trump.
- •The ambassadorship had been vacant for eighteen months following the departure of Philip Goldberg, who served from July 2022 to January 2025.
- •Several unresolved issues confront the alliance, including tensions over South Korean regulatory action against Coupang and discussions on cost-sharing for U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
- •The U.S.-South Korea alliance, rooted in the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty, maintains approximately 28,500 American military personnel on the Korean Peninsula.
Michelle Park Steel, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, formally began her official duties on Tuesday by submitting a copy of her credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and paying a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
Steel arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Government Complex Seoul, where she handed a copy of her letters of credence to the ministry's chief of protocol — a standard diplomatic procedure that allows newly arrived ambassadors to assume their posts ahead of the formal presentation ceremony with the head of state.
Accompanied by her husband, Shawn Steel, the new ambassador did not respond to questions from reporters gathered outside the ministry building before entering.
South Korea's foreign ministry said that Cho and Steel would discuss measures to strengthen bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington.
Steel landed in Korea on Thursday, becoming the second Korean American to serve as U.S. ambassador to the country. A former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California and a former chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Steel was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Her appointment fills a position that had been vacant for 18 months following the departure of former Ambassador Philip Goldberg, who held the post from July 2022 to January 2025.
Steel assumes the ambassadorship at a critical juncture for the U.S.–South Korea alliance. Several significant issues remain pending between the two nations, including tensions stemming from South Korean regulatory action against U.S.-listed e-commerce company Coupang over a major data breach, Seoul's investment commitments in the United States, and South Korea's efforts to develop a nuclear-powered submarine capability. Her arrival also comes amid broader discussions between the two governments on burden-sharing for U.S. forces stationed in Korea and coordination on regional security in the Indo-Pacific.
The U.S.–South Korea alliance, established under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty, forms the foundation of security cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, where approximately 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed.
