Michelle Steel testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on her nomination to be US ambassador to South Korea on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 20, 2026. (Reuters) The US Senate on Thursday confirmed former Congresswoman Michelle Steel as the next US ambassador to South Korea, filling the post that has been vacant since early last year amid a period of significant alliance coordination between Seoul and Washington.Steel, a Korean American Republican who represented a California district for two terms in the House of Representatives, was approved in a 55-39 vote. US President Donald Trump nominated her for the position in April.Her confirmation comes as the allies seek to advance a series of bilateral initiatives, including efforts to modernize the alliance and implement recently reached security and trade agreements.Steel will become only the second Korean American to serve as the top US envoy in Seoul, following Sung Kim, who served as ambassador from 2011 to 2014. The post has been vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg departed South Korea in January 2025.During her Senate confirmation hearing last month, Steel pledged to work to ensure that US businesses operating in South Korea receive fair treatment.While serving in Congress, she was also involved in efforts to address issues affecting Korean American families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, including legislation aimed at facilitating reunions with relatives in North Korea.Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and spent part of her childhood in Japan before moving to the United States with her family in the mid-1970s. She has frequently pointed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots as a formative experience that inspired her political engagement and highlighted the importance of Korean American representation in public office.She launched her political career in California, serving on the state's Board of Equalization before being elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors. In 2020, she became one of the first Korean American Republican women elected to Congress, representing California districts in the House of Representatives for two terms.Steel narrowly lost her reelection bid in 2024, falling short by several hundred votes in one of the closest House races in the country. During the campaign, Trump endorsed her and praised her as one of the country's strongest lawmakers.She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University and an Executive MBA from the University of Southern California.