Ambassador Michelle Steel’s first order of business upon submitting her credentials and formally beginning her tenure as the US envoy in Korea was a meeting with Seoul’s foreign minister, during which they reportedly discussed advancing bilateral relations and making progress on major pending issues between their two countries.Steel visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Tuesday afternoon, submitted her credentials to the chief of protocol and paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Cho Hyun that lasted about 30 minutes. Newly appointed foreign ambassadors must submit their credentials from their respective heads of state to the ministry before beginning their official duties. Steel is expected to submit her credentials to President Lee Jae Myung in the days to come.During their meeting, Cho and Steel are believed to have discussed a wide range of key issues pertaining to Korea-US relations, such as Korea’s pledge to invest in the US, consultations on security matters, and issues regarding the e-commerce platform Coupang. However, Steel declined to comment when a reporter asked what she had discussed with Cho. The Foreign Ministry said that Tuesday’s meeting functioned as an “introduction,” in which the two parties touched upon how they would develop bilateral relations in general terms. “Instead of engaging in in-depth discussions on current issues, they would have talked within the framework of advancing Korea-US relations,” a ministry official said. The Korean government is hopeful that Steel, who is known to be close with US President Donald Trump, could help address the challenges facing bilateral relations. “Steel is believed to communicate directly with those in Washington, so we are hopeful that we can use that direct line to resolve the various difficulties that Korea-US relations currently face,” Cho told a media outlet on Monday. In a regular briefing on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon stated, “We look forward to Steel’s contribution to strengthening Korea-US relations, the promotion of friendship between US and Korean citizens, and other issues.” Steel’s courtesy call garnered attention for the fact that she was accompanied by her husband, the attorney Shawn Steel, which is considered unusual. A senior Foreign Ministry official noted that this was a “special case.” “Shawn Steel is a prominent politician affiliated with the Republican Party, and has widespread connections both within and outside the Trump administration, so we believe that this will benefit Korea-US relations,” the official noted. Shawn Steel has accompanied his wife at various public events ever since she arrived in Korea on Thursday.