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| 2026-05-21 05:03:56
(2nd LD) US envoy nominee-hearing
(2nd LD) U.S. ambassador nominee pledges to ensure U.S. firms operating in S. Korea do not face discrimination
(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 12-13)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The nominee for the United States' top envoy to South Korea vowed Wednesday to ensure that American companies operating in the Asian country are not discriminated against, if she is confirmed by the Senate.
During a confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Michelle Steel, a former Korean American congresswoman, made the remarks, highlighting her commitment to enhancing U.S. national security and economic prosperity by strengthening the Seoul-Washington alliance.
"Last year in November, President Trump and President Lee, they actually set the agreement for a joint fact sheet. On that joint fact sheet, they made it very clear that U.S. companies cannot be discriminated (against), nor are they going to have unnecessary barriers," she said.
"If I get confirmed, yes, I am going to follow up with that very clearly because all the Korean companies here in the U.S., they get equal treatment, and I think U.S. companies in South Korea have to get equal treatment too," she added.
She was referring to the joint fact sheet that Seoul and Washington released in November to outline bilateral security, trade and investment agreements, which South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump reached during their two in-person summits last year.
Her remarks came after Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said that American tech companies, as well as e-commerce giant Coupang, "seem to be discriminated against" in South Korea, asking her to ensure that all U.S. firms are not treated "differently" if she is confirmed.
In her opening remarks, Steel underscored her focus on supporting U.S. firms in South Korea.
"American companies operating in Korea deserve the same market access that Korean companies enjoy in the U.S.," she said.
When Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) touched on South Korea's trade barriers on U.S. agricultural products and the issue of reduced tariff-rate quota volumes for U.S. soybeans, she pledged to sit down with Seoul officials to address the trade issues if confirmed.
The nominee pointed out that last year's joint fact sheet was "not really clear" about how Seoul would fulfill its pledge to invest US$350 billion in the U.S.
"So I want to see that ... exactly where that's coming from," she said.
Pointing to the suffering of people in North Korea, Steel stressed the need for a "strong alliance" between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan."
"It's not just protecting South Korea, but it is protecting all (of the) Indo-Pacific region," she said.
In her opening remarks, she emphasized her commitment to enhancing the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
"During my two terms in Congress, I worked to strengthen our national security, preserve economic prosperity, protect American workers and businesses, and advance human rights, including on the Ways and Means Committee," she said.
"If confirmed, I would continue that commitment by strengthening our alliance with the Republic of Korea," she added, referring to South Korea by its official name.
She pointed out that for more than seven decades, the bilateral alliance has served as the "linchpin" of peace, security and prosperity in Northeast Asia, while noting that the allies' defense posture remains "ironclad."
"Our combined defense posture anchored by the 28,500 members of U.S. Forces Korea and reinforced by America's extended nuclear deterrent remains ironclad," she said. "It is the bedrock of our alliance."
The nominee also voiced concerns over North Korea's evolving security challenges.
"Our governments cooperate closely to respond to the DPRK's unlawful weapons programs. It's expanding cybercrime operations and it is deepening military cooperation with Russia."
DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
On the economic front, Steel described South Korea as one of America's most important trading partners and a critical investor in rebuilding American industry.
"We welcome the U.S.-ROK strategic trade investment deal, in which South Korea commits to invest $350 billion in U.S. strategic industries and reduce barriers to U.S. exports," she said.
Steel cited a Korean saying meaning "after hardship comes joy," as she recounted how her parents fled North Korea to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Her parents started a family in South Korea and later moved to Japan. Steel moved to the U.S. as her father encouraged her to study in the country that she said her father saw as a "beacon of hope, freedom and prosperity."
"Only in a country like ours could someone like me serve their community in Congress," she said.
Last month, Trump nominated Steel as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
If confirmed, Steel will fill the ambassadorial post that has been left vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left South Korea in January last year.
With Senate confirmation, Steel would become the second Korean American to serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul as ambassador from 2011–2014.
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