▲ Korean American Rep. Michelle Steel attends a press conference with South Korean correspondents in Washington, D.C., in this file photo dated May 20, 2016. U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated the former two-term Republican lawmaker from California as the United States' top envoy to South Korea, a presidential nomination document showed April 13, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan (L) holds a cap with a message reading "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again," alongside U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel (C) and South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel is set to arrive in Seoul this week to assume her post, sources said Monday, which has remained vacant for about 1 1/2 years since the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration.

Steel is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Thursday, and the submission of her credentials is expected to take place as early as next week after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and the foreign ministry's chief of protocol return from accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his trip to South America, according to the sources.

Before formally beginning their duties, newly appointed foreign ambassadors are required to present copies of their credentials to the chief of protocol at the foreign ministry. U.S. ambassadors also traditionally pay a courtesy call on the foreign minister on that occasion.

The ambassadorial post has remained vacant since former U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg left South Korea in January last year.

A Korean American Republican politician, Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s. She served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California from 2020 to 2024.

Steel is the second Korean American to serve as the top U.S. envoy to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul from 2011 to 2014.

Responding to a question from Yonhap News Agency in Washington last week, Steel described strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance as her "top priority."

Her arrival comes as Seoul and Washington face a series of pending security and economic issues, including South Korean investment in the United States, civilian nuclear cooperation, Seoul's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and ongoing efforts to modernize the decades-old alliance.

Steel's nomination had drawn criticism from some progressive civic groups here, which view her as a conservative figure.

Seoul government officials, however, said she has a firm understanding of the importance of the bilateral alliance and is committed to cooperating with the South Korean government.

"The two countries have a wide range of issues to work on together amid the rapidly evolving security and economic landscape. We welcome Ambassador Steel's arrival and hope it will help advance discussions on those issues," a foreign ministry official said.

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