This statement is prepared by Seattle Evergreen Coalition regarding the nomination of Michelle Park Steel as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. On behalf of all signatories, we intend to submit this statement to the U.S. Senate in the near future. If you agree with the contents of this statement, we invite you to add your name in support.

April 14, 2026 |  Seattle Evergreen Coalition (시애틀늘푸른연대)

On April 14, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated former U.S. Representative Michelle Park Steel as his candidate for the new U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. We express our deep concern regarding this nomination and hereby state our opposition as follows.

1. Public Disparagement of the South Korean Government and Its Inter-Korean Peace Policy.

In January 2020, Michelle Park Steel published an op-ed in the American conservative outlet Washington Examiner, in which she argued that the then-President of South Korea was acting as an obstacle to North Korea's denuclearization policy, sharply criticizing the South Korean government's inter-Korean peace policy. She used contemptuous language to publicly disparage a democratically elected government of an ally and its policies—remarks that provoked significant backlash within the Korean American community at the time.

The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea must conduct diplomacy grounded in mutual trust and respect between the two nations. It runs counter to the very spirit of the U.S.-Korea alliance to appoint someone who has a record of publicly mocking and criticizing the sovereign foreign policy of an ally. Furthermore, that op-ed plainly revealed how biased and one-sided Steel's perspective on Korean Peninsula affairs is—something we cannot take lightly.

2. Association with Election Fraud Claims.

Michelle Park Steel is reported to be closely aligned with individuals such as Morse Tan, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, and Annie Chen, founder of the Korean Conservative Political Action Conference (KCPAC)—figures who have promoted claims of fraud in U.S. elections.

These are individuals who have denied electoral outcomes and fostered distrust in democratic institutions. Should Steel align herself with claims that President Lee Jae-myung's election was the result of fraud, this would constitute a direct repudiation of South Korean democracy and render her wholly unfit to serve as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea.

3. Ties to Extreme MAGA Forces.

Michelle Park Steel is regarded as a close ally of President Trump and a member of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement. The MAGA movement has been criticized for undermining multilateralism and alliance diplomacy while reinforcing authoritarian political tendencies. Concerns have also been raised about Steel's alleged connections to South Korea's far-right factions. If a person with such political leanings is appointed as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, the principles of balance and mutual respect in the U.S.-Korea relationship could be seriously undermined.

4. Opposition to the Korean Peninsula Peace Process.

Michelle Park Steel is known to oppose an end-of-war declaration. A declaration ending the Korean War and the broader peace process for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula represent a long-held aspiration—one shared for decades by people on both sides of the peninsula and by Korean diaspora communities around the world who desire peace. Appointing someone who opposes peace to serve as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea—a key diplomatic channel for Korean Peninsula policy—would obstruct the path toward peace on the peninsula.

5. Our Demands.

The U.S. Senate must thoroughly scrutinize, during Michelle Park Steel's confirmation hearings, the extent of her involvement with claims related to election fraud.

The South Korean government must carefully deliberate before granting agreement (diplomatic consent), and must not extend consent to any individual who denies democracy and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The Trump administration must appoint as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea a person who is genuinely capable of upholding the trust of the U.S.-Korea alliance and supporting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

We, who stand in support of South Korean democracy and peace on the Korean Peninsula, are deeply concerned about the negative impact that the nomination of Michelle Park Steel will have on U.S.-Korea relations and on the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

We will continue to raise our voices in defense of South Korean democracy and in pursuit of a peaceful future for the Korean Peninsula.