New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 4th to submit copies of her credentials and began her official duties as ambassador.
In the afternoon, Ambassador Steel visited the annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to submit copies of her credentials and meet with Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Steel appeared with her husband, attorney Shawn Steel. She did not answer reporters' questions asking for her position on current issues in South Korea–U.S. relations.
That day, Ambassador Steel directly submitted copies of her credentials—signifying that President Donald Trump guarantees the ambassador's identity—to Kang Sang-wook, the chief of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After submitting copies of her credentials, Ambassador Steel can carry out official working-level activities, except for meetings with the heads of the three branches, before presenting the original credentials to President Lee Jae-myung.
That day, Ambassador Steel held a meeting with the Minister Cho and was said to have exchanged views on ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries, including the overall direction of development in South Korea–U.S. relations.
Ambassador Steel is the second Korean American U.S. ambassador to Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. With Ambassador Steel's arrival, the vacancy in the U.S. ambassador post to Korea that lasted about a year and a half after former Ambassador Philip Goldberg, appointed by the Biden administration, left in Jan. last year has been resolved.
Earlier, after arriving on the 30th, Ambassador Steel visited Gwanghwamun Square, Namdaemun Market, and Youngnak Church in succession, moving to communicate openly with citizens.
Park Doo-soon, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said regarding Ambassador Steel's arrival, "We expect the ambassador to contribute to strengthening South Korea–U.S. relations and fostering friendship between the peoples of the two countries, based on an understanding of the alliance and bilateral ties."