Trump nominates former lawmaker Michelle Steel as US ambassador to South Korea
Michelle Steel appears in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on Sept 28, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters file
SEOUL — US President Donald Trump has nominated a former California congresswoman, Michelle Steel, to be the US ambassador to Seoul, a post that has been vacant throughout his second term, despite South Korea's status as a key ally.
The White House announced the nomination, which will require congressional approval, on Monday (April 13).
A senior State Department official, Kevin Kim, has been serving as acting ambassador since last October, shortly before Trump paid a visit to South Korea.
The last Senate-approved ambassador in Seoul was Philip Goldberg, who was picked by former President Joe Biden.
In 2024, Steel, a Korean-American and a conservative Republican, narrowly lost her bid for reelection to her Orange County congressional seat to Democrat Derek Tran, a Vietnamese-American, having served two full terms.
News reports at the time said the tight race between the two Asian-American candidates turned ugly with both accusing each other of red-baiting tactics.