New US envoy Steel to arrive in South Korea amid mounting alliance challenges

New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel is set to arrive in Seoul this week, filling a diplomatic post that has remained vacant for around 18 months as Washington and Seoul navigate a growing list of security and economic issues.

According to South Korean media, Steel is expected to arrive on July 30, with the formal presentation of her credentials likely to take place as early as next week after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and senior protocol officials return from accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his South America trip, diplomatic sources said.

The ambassadorial position has been vacant since former U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg left South Korea in January last year, shortly after the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration.

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

She is the second Korean American to become Washington's top envoy to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul from 2011 to 2014.

Steel said last week that strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance would be her "top priority", responding to a question from a news agency in Washington.

Her arrival comes as the two allies face several unresolved issues, including South Korean investment in the United States, cooperation on civilian nuclear energy, Seoul's plans to develop nuclear-powered submarines, and efforts to modernise their decades-old security partnership.

Steel's nomination had faced criticism from some progressive civic groups in South Korea, which questioned her conservative political background. South Korean government officials, however, said she understands the importance of the bilateral alliance and is committed to cooperation with Seoul.

"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.

By Aghakazim Guliyev