New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel speaks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., July 23. Yonhap
Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is set to arrive in the country Thursday, with attention turning to how she will navigate a stack of bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington amid mounting global uncertainties.
Steel will land Thursday, according to sources, and begin preparations to formally assume the post, which has been vacant for a year and a half since her predecessor, Philip Goldberg, departed around the time U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January last year.
The new top envoy faces a full agenda of pending bilateral issues but is expected to prioritize strengthening the alliance.
Michelle Steel, then-R-Calif., arrives for the State Dinner with U.S. President Joe Biden and Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House in Washington in this April 26, 2023 file photo. AP-Yonhap
