▲ U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel
The nomination of Michelle Steel as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The Senate passed the nomination in a plenary session on June 17 (local time) with a vote of 55 in favor and 39 against.
With this vote, the confirmation process for Steel is now complete.
She will now receive her commission from U.S. President Donald Trump before departing for her post in South Korea.
The South Korean government has also granted an "agrément," the formal diplomatic consent from a host country for a foreign envoy.
With administrative procedures effectively finalized on both the South Korean and U.S. sides, observers expect Steel to arrive at her post no later than next month.
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official stated that the exact timing of her arrival depends on internal U.S. procedures, such as the presentation of the commission by President Trump, adding, "We expect that once Ambassador-designate Steel officially assumes her post, she will contribute to strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance."
Steel was nominated for the ambassadorship on April 13, and her Senate confirmation hearing was held on May 20.
Given that many nominees often wait months just to have a confirmation hearing scheduled after being nominated by the President, the process for Steel has moved at a notably rapid pace.
Steel will become the second Korean-American to serve as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, following Sung Kim, who served from 2011 to 2014.
The position of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea had been vacant since Philip Goldberg, appointed under the Biden administration, departed in January of last year.
Born in Seoul in 1955, Steel immigrated to the United States in 1975. She served as an elected member of the California State Board of Equalization and as an Orange County Supervisor before serving four years as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives starting in 2021.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.