Korean-American Michelle Park Steel Nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Korea

Trump Nominates First U.S. Ambassador to Korea of His Second Term
Filling More Than a Year of Vacancy in the Ambassador Post

Michelle Park Steel, former U.S. Representative, nominated as the first U.S. Ambassador to South Korea in the second term of the Trump Administration. U.S. House of Representatives website

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated former U.S. Representative Michelle Park Steel, a Korean American politician, as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, a post that had been vacant for over a year.

On April 13 (local time), the White House announced her nomination as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea on its website and requested confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1975. Having been a full-time homemaker in the U.S., she reportedly became interested in politics following the Los Angeles (LA) riots in 1992.

She later entered the Washington political scene with the help of her husband, Shawn Steel, an attorney and former chair of the California Republican Party. Steel built her career by serving as an elected member of the California State Board of Equalization and as Supervisor (chief administrator) of Orange County.

From 2021, she served as a U.S. Representative for four years. During her tenure, she was recognized as a leading "pro-Korea" politician within the Republican Party, contributing to strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance by supporting issues such as North Korean human rights and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Steel ran for re-election in November 2024 but lost by a margin of just over 600 votes. President Trump had officially endorsed her in a post on his social networking service (SNS) in October 2024, shortly before the election.

Meanwhile, the ambassador-designate must be confirmed through a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing and a full Senate vote. If Steel formally assumes office, she will become the second Korean American U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim.

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