Michelle Steel
President Donald Trump has nominated former congressmember Michelle Park Steel as the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea, according to a nomination submitted to the Senate on Tuesday.
Steel is a Korean American Republican who represented California in Congress. She was elected in 2020, reelected in 2022, and lost her seat in the 2024 general election.
If confirmed, Steel would become the second Korean American to serve as Washington’s top envoy in Seoul, after Sung Kim, who held the post from 2011-2014.
The nomination comes at a time when Seoul and Washington are navigating a broad agenda—updating their alliance, working through trade and investment tensions, and teaming up on bigger challenges like North Korea’s growing threats and instability in the Middle East.
Steel is expected to reestablish a steady diplomatic link between the allies after more than a year of temporary leadership at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
During her time in Congress, Steel was involved in legislative efforts addressing the long-standing issue of Korean American families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
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