Senate confirms Michelle Steel as US ambassador to South Korea

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The US Senate confirmed former congresswoman Michelle Steel as ambassador to South Korea on June 17 in a 55-39 vote.

The Senate confirmed Michelle Steel as the United States ambassador to South Korea. President Donald Trump nominated her in April, filling a post vacant since former ambassador Philip Goldberg departed in January last year.

Steel will become the second Korean American to serve in the role, after Sung Kim who served from 2011 to 2014. At her confirmation hearing she pledged to ensure American companies in South Korea face no discrimination.

Steel was first elected to the House in 2020 and reelected in 2022. She lost her 2024 reelection bid. Born in Seoul in June 1955, she speaks fluent Korean.

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