Michelle Park Steel speaks to service members and community leaders during a lunheon at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Calif., Nov. 16, 2017. (Crystal Housman/California National Guard)
President Donald Trump has nominated a Korean American former lawmaker as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, the White House announced this week.
Michelle Park Steel, 70, served two terms as a Republican representative from California from 2021 to 2025. She lost her 2024 bid for a third term to Democrat Derek Tran.
“We expect that, once formally appointed, ambassador-designate Steel will contribute to strengthening bilateral relations and promoting friendship between the peoples of both countries,” South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Stars and Stripes in an email Tuesday.
Steel’s nomination comes as Seoul and Washington pursue efforts to modernize their relationship across defense and economic fronts. It also follows growing calls from Trump for South Korea to do more to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, citing the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. troops on the peninsula.
If the Senate confirms her nomination, she will become the second Korean American to hold the position, following Ambassador Sung Kim, who served from 2011 to 2014. Steel would also become the second female U.S. ambassador to Korea after Kathleen Stephens, who served from 2008 to 2011.
The ambassadorial post has been vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left in January 2025. James Heller is serving as the chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
During her time in Congress, Steel introduced several pieces of legislation related to Korean issues, including the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act in 2024, which aims to help Korean Americans reunite with relatives in North Korea who were separated following the Korean War.
She also introduced legislation that urges Congress to address humanitarian and human rights issues facing North Koreans in China.
Before her time in Washington, Steel served on the California State Board of Equalization from 2007 to 2015 and was a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2020.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and a master of business administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Steel, who could not be reached for comment after hours on Monday, is married to lawyer Shawn Steel, who formerly chaired the Republican Party of California from 2001 to 2003.
