Former U.S. Representative Michelle Park Steel is mentioned as Trump's first U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Former Korean-American lawmaker Michelle Park Steel (Korean name Park Eun-joo) and former U.S. ambassador to South Korea for the second term of Donald Trump's administration are reportedly being discussed.

In Washington's diplomatic community, the name of former deputy national security adviser Alison Hooker along with former congressman Steele is also on the list, and former diplomats who served as ambassadors from countries other than Korea are also on the list, drawing attention to who will be selected in the end.

Born in Seoul in 1955, Steele moved to the U.S. with her family in 1975.

Former congressman Steele, who was an ordinary housewife, became interested in politics as he reduced the need for Korean people to enter politics in the wake of the Los Angeles riots.

Steele, who entered politics with the help of her husband, Sean Steele, who served as chair of the California Republican Party, served as an elected member of the California Department of Taxation and as an Orange County supervisor.

Since then, he has been a member of the Federal House of Representatives for four years since 2021, but lost the election in November last year by more than 600 votes.

In a post on his social media (SNS) in October last year, just before the election, Trump officially supported Steele, calling him an "America First Patriot who escaped communism with his family."

Former and current leaders of the Republican House of Representatives, including current House Speaker Mike Johnson and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who are pro-Trump figures, also reportedly privately recommended Steele as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Steele is said to have the potential to be appointed to political posts, including vice ministers of federal government departments.

Hooker, who is named along with Steele, was involved in the U.S.-North Korea summit in the first Trump administration.

He is a close aide to former national adviser Robert O'Brien, who was also mentioned as a candidate for various foreign and security positions in the second government while serving as national security adviser during the first Trump administration.

Hooker is a senior vice president of the U.S. Global Strategy (AGS), where former aide O'Brien is chairman.

Earlier, Trump appointed former federal senator David Perdue as ambassador to China on the 5th of last month and former Portuguese ambassador George Glass as ambassador to Japan on the 16th of the same month, but the ambassador to Korea has not yet announced it.

"There seems to be no definitive discussion yet regarding the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea," a Washington source said.

Meanwhile, following the retirement of current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg, the Biden administration has decided to send Joseph Yun, a former special representative for North Korea policy, as an interim deputy ambassador.The interim deputy ambassador

Yoon is said to have completed internal State Department proceedings and will be appointed as early as this week.

It is unusual to send Yoon to South Korea as a temporary deputy ambassador because the deputy ambassador of the mission usually performs his duties as an ambassador when an incumbent ambassador resigns.

It is interpreted that it took considerable time to appoint a formal ambassador through procedures such as Agremang (prior consent to diplomatic mission) and Senate confirmation.

This means that Ambassador Goldberg had a 16-month gap before he took office in South Korea, and considered that the alliance management could also be disrupted if such a gap occurs at a time when Korea's political situation is extremely fluid due to martial law and impeachment.

In this regard, the Biden administration reportedly consulted with Trump's transition team in advance on the issue of sending Yoon as an interim deputy ambassador.

Furthermore, some interpret that the current embassy seat is of Japanese descent (Joy Sakurai).

In other words, the former representative of Korean descent Yoon may have been selected as a temporary ambassador instead of Japanese in consideration of sensitive Korea-Japan relations.

Another source said, "As Yoon is an interim deputy ambassador, he is expected to work until an official ambassador appointed by Trump arrives."