Presidential Office Expects Michelle Park Steel's Nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Strengthen Korea-U.S. Relations

Trump Nominates U.S. Ambassador to South Korea After More Than a Year Vacancy

The Office of the President commented on the nomination of former U.S. Representative Michelle Park Steel (Korean name: Eunju Park) as the next U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, stating, "If the nominee is officially appointed in the future, we expect her to contribute to strengthening the South Korea-U.S. relationship and promoting friendship between the peoples of both countries."

Yonhap News Agency

On April 14, a presidential official said, "The government is aware that the U.S. side has officially nominated former Representative Steel as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea."

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Michelle Park Steel, a Korean-American politician, as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, a position that had been vacant for over a year. On April 13 (local time), the White House announced her nomination on its website and requested confirmation from the U.S. Senate.

Former Representative Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1975. She was a full-time homemaker in the U.S. and reportedly became interested in politics during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Later, with the support of her husband, attorney Shawn Steel, who served as chair of the California Republican Party, she entered the political scene in Washington. Steel built her career by serving as an elected member of the California Board of Equalization and as an Orange County Supervisor (chief administrative officer), among other roles.

She served as a U.S. Representative for four years starting in 2021. During her term, she was recognized as a leading pro-Korea politician within the Republican Party, contributing to the strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. alliance by supporting issues such as North Korean human rights and the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In November 2024, Steel ran for re-election but was defeated by a margin of about 600 votes. President Trump officially endorsed Steel in a post on his social networking service (SNS) in October 2024, just before the election.

The ambassador-designate must pass a confirmation hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a confirmation vote by the full Senate. If officially appointed, former Representative Steel would become the second Korean-American to serve as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.