In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said Steel is "scheduled to arrive in Seoul soon and looks forward to further strengthening the relationship between our two countries."
"I am so honored to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea," Steel said in a separate video message posted by the embassy, speaking in both English and Korean. "I'm just looking forward to meeting you all."
Steel was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate and also received South Korea's agrément, the host country's formal approval of a foreign ambassador, clearing the way for her to take up the post in Seoul.
She will be the second Korean American to serve in the role, after Sung Kim, who held it from 2011 to 2014. The post has been vacant since January last year, when Philip Goldberg, who was appointed under former President Joe Biden, left the job.
Before her appointment, Steel served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2021 to 2025.
Steel, who was born in Seoul in 1955 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1975, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She has two children and four grandchildren with her husband Shawn Steel.
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