The United States ambassador to South Korea () is the chief diplomatic representative of the United States accredited to the Republic of Korea. The ambassador's official title is "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea."Embassy of the United States, Seoul, Ambassador
Korea
After the United States–Korea Treaty of 1882 was negotiated, diplomatic representatives were sent from Washington to Seoul.Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921–1922. (1922). From then until 1905, there were several Envoys and Consuls General, each heading what was called a legation. After the Japanese had defeated the Chinese in 1895, and the Russians in 1905, Korea began to see its independence disappear. By 1910, Japan had annexed Korea and the U.S. no longer had a diplomatic presence in Korea.
Envoy, resident minister, and consul-general Name Portrait Appointment Presentation TerminationAppointer Notes Lucius H. Foote February 27, 1883 May 20, 1883 February 19, 1885 Chester A. Arthur Korean Mission George Clayton Foulk (acting) February 19, 1885 June 12, 1886 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim William Harwar Parker February 19, 1886 June 12, 1886 September 3, 1886 Grover Cleveland George Clayton Foulk (acting) September 3, 1886 April 13, 1887 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Hugh A. Dinsmore January 12, 1887 April 13, 1887 May 26, 1890 Grover Cleveland U.S. Congress, Dismore bio Augustine Heard January 30, 1890 May 26, 1890 June 27, 1893 Benjamin Harrison John M. B. Sill January 12, 1894 April 30, 1894 September 13, 1897 Grover Cleveland Horace Newton Allen July 17, 1897 September 13, 1897 October 1, 1901 William McKinley June 17, 1901 October 1, 1901 June 9, 1905 as Envoy Edwin V. Morgan March 18, 1905 June 26, 1905 November 17, 1905 Theodore Roosevelt Korean Mission ; note that Morgan's term was brief. He (a) presented credentials on June 26, 1905; (b) closed the Legation, November 28, 1905; and (c) left Seoul, December 8, 1905 after Japan took over responsibility for Korean foreign relations
South Korea At the end of World War II, U.S. forces accepted Japan's surrender in southern Korea, and Soviet forces accepted the surrender of the Japanese in northern Korea. Talks to agree upon a unity government for Korea failed, and in 1948, two separate Korean states were created: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The United States established diplomatic relations with the new South Korean government, but did not recognize North Korea. Other countries, like the Soviet Union, recognized the Pyongyang government in North Korea, but did not initially establish relations with the South Korean government in Seoul.
The United States has maintained constant diplomatic relations with South Korea since 1948, with formal recognition of the Republic of Korea on 1 January 1949. The American special representative, John J. Muccio, became the first Ambassador to the Republic of Korea on March 1, 1949.Schnabel, James F. (1972).
The Embassy of the United States in Seoul has jurisdiction over APP Busan.
Ambassador # Name Portrait Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes 1 John J. Muccio April 7, 1949 April 20, 1949 September 8, 1952 Harry S. Truman 2 Ellis O. Briggs August 25, 1952 November 25, 1952 April 12, 1955 3 William S. B. Lacy March 24, 1955 May 12, 1955 October 20, 1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower 4 Walter C. Dowling May 29, 1956 July 14, 1956 October 2, 1959 Brazinsky, George. (2007). 5 Walter P. McConaughy October 5, 1959 December 17, 1959 April 12, 1961 Brazinsky, — Marshall Green (acting) April 12, 1961 June 27, 1961 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 6 Samuel D. Berger June 12, 1961 June 27, 1961 July 10, 1964 John F. Kennedy Brazinsky, 7 Winthrop G. Brown July 31, 1964 August 14, 1964 June 10, 1967 Lyndon B. Johnson Brazinsky, 8 William J. Porter June 9, 1967 August 23, 1967 August 18, 1971 Brazinsky, 9 Philip C. Habib September 30, 1971 October 10, 1971 August 19, 1974 Richard Nixon Brazinsky, 10 Richard L. Sneider August 23, 1974 September 18, 1974 June 21, 1978 Gerald Ford 11 William H. Gleysteen Jr. June 27, 1978 July 24, 1978 June 10, 1981 Jimmy Carter Brazinsky, 12 Richard L. Walker July 18, 1981 August 12, 1981 October 25, 1986 Ronald Reagan 13 James R. Lilley October 16, 1986 November 26, 1986 January 3, 1989 14 Donald Gregg September 14, 1989 September 27, 1989 February 27, 1993 George H. W. Bush — Raymond Burghardt (acting) February 27, 1993 November 2, 1993 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 15 James T. Laney October 15, 1993 November 2, 1993 February 5, 1996 Bill Clinton — Richard A. Christenson (acting) February 5, 1996 December 15, 1997 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 16 Stephen W. Bosworth October 24, 1997 December 15, 1997 February 10, 2001 Bill Clinton Funabashi, Yōichi. (2007). — Evans Revere (acting) February 10, 2001 September 12, 2001 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 17 Thomas C. Hubbard August 3, 2001 September 12, 2001 April 17, 2004 George W. Bush Funabashi, 18 Christopher R. Hill May 12, 2004 September 1, 2004 April 12, 2005 Funabashi, — Mark C. Minton (acting) April 12, 2005 October 17, 2005 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 19 Alexander R. Vershbow October 12, 2005 October 17, 2005 September 18, 2008 George W. Bush Funabashi, 20 Kathleen Stephens August 4, 2008 October 6, 2008 October 23, 2011 21 Sung Kim October 13, 2011 November 25, 2011 October 24, 2014 Barack Obama 22 Mark Lippert September 26, 2014 November 21, 2014 January 20, 2017 — Marc Knapper (acting) January 20, 2017 July 7, 2018 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 23 Harry B. Harris Jr. June 29, 2018 July 25, 2018 January 20, 2021 Donald Trump — Robert G. Rapson (acting) January 20, 2021 July 15, 2021 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim — Christopher Del Corso (acting) July 15, 2021 July 10, 2022 (acting) 24 Philip S. Goldberg May 5, 2022 July 12, 2022 January 10, 2025 Joe Biden — Joseph Y. Yun (acting) January 10, 2025 October 24, 2025 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim — Y. Kevin Kim (acting) October 27, 2025 January 7, 2026 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim — James R. Heller (acting) January 7, 2026 July 8, 2026 (acting) Chargé d’Affaires ad interim 25 Michelle Steel June 17, 2026 August 12, 2026 Present Donald Trump
See also List of ambassadors of South Korea to the United States List of United States special representatives for North Korea Ambassadors of the United States Foreign relations of North Korea Foreign relations of South Korea North Korea–United States relations South Korea–United States relations
Notes
References Brazinsky, George. (2007). Nation Building in South Korea:Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ; OCLC 263714059 Funabashi, Yōichi. (2007). The Peninsula Question: a Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. ; OCLC 156811113 Halleck, Henry Wager. (1861). International law: or, Rules regulating the intercourse of states in peace and war New York: D. Van Nostrand. OCLC 852699 Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 12923609 Schnabel, James F. (1972). Policy and Direction: the First Year, Vol. 3 of United States Army in the Korean War. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. United States Department of State: Background notes on South Korea
External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Korea United States Department of State: South Korea United States Embassy in Seoul