New U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel to Depart for Seoul Next Week
Quick Look
- Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel announced her departure for Seoul next week, prioritizing the strengthening of the Seoul-Washington alliance.
- She will fill a post vacant since January last year and is the second Korean American to serve in the role.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The U.S. ambassador post to South Korea has been vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left Korea in January last year.
By Song Sang-ho and Lee Yumi
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Yonhap) -- New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel said Thursday that she will depart for Seoul next week, as she highlighted the task of strengthening the Seoul-Washington alliance as her "top priority."
Steel made the remarks in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency while attending an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington -- a platform to facilitate South Korea's planned US$150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector.
"Next week," she said, referring Yonhap News Agency to the State Department for other questions.
The top envoy is widely expected to depart for South Korea around Wednesday next week as Seoul and Washington face a series of pending issues, including implementing bilateral agreements on security, trade and investment and continuing joint efforts to "modernize" the decades-old alliance.
Steel, a former two-term congresswoman, is set to fill the ambassador post, which has been left vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left Korea in January last year.
She is the second Korean American to serve as the U.S.' top envoy to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul as ambassador from 2011–2014.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Michelle Steel will depart for South Korea around Wednesday next week.
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- What is the exact departure date for Ambassador Steel?
- What are the specific details of the planned US$150 billion investment?
