SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - The United States Embassy in Seoul has a full ambassador again for the first time in a year and a half after the new envoy Michelle Steel submitted a copy of her credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday afternoon and paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
The post had run on a chargé d'affaires since last ambassador Philip Goldberg appointed under President Joe Biden, left Seoul in January 2025. Steel is the first ambassador to South Korea named by President Donald Trump in his second term and the second Korean American to hold the job, after Sung Kim.
She landed at Incheon International Airport on July 30.
An incoming envoy cannot start official work here until a copy of the credentials issued by their head of state reaches the ministry's chief of protocol, a position held by Kim Tae-jin. The original goes to the president later, in a separate ceremony that completes the accreditation.
Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said the call on Cho was arranged as an introductory meeting, with the two sides planning to exchange views on ways to advance the alliance.
The ceremony with President Lee Jae Myung has no date yet, according to Park adding the timing would follow a review of the presidential office's schedule.
"Ambassador Steel has a great deal of understanding and insight into the alliance and the bilateral relationship, we expect her to contribute to strengthening that relationship and to deepening friendship between the two peoples," she said.
Steel, arriving with her husband-attorney Shawn, did not share what she would raise with Cho.
The couple enjoyed a day-out at Namdaemun and attended a service at Yeongnak Church in central Seoul during their first weekend in Seoul.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
