By Kwon Mee-yoo
About nine months into his presidency, U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to name a new ambassador to South Korea, despite the importance of the post in bilateral relations as well as the significance of Seoul as an important ally in East Asian geopolitics.
“America is back, diplomacy is back,” Biden said in February, distancing himself from his predecessor Donald Trump who made "America First" his main policy. However the message hasn't sunk in yet as about half of U.S. ambassadorial posts still remain vacant ― with South Korea being one of them.
According to the American Foreign Service Association, 95 out of 189 positions were vacant as of Nov. 4.
Only seven of Biden's ambassadorial appointees have been confirmed since he took office, while 63 are stalled in the Senate, according to the Partnership for Public Service, Nov. 2.
South Korea falls into the remaining 25 positions that do not have nominations.
Former Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris, who was appointed by Trump, resigned Jan. 20 after President Biden took office.
After Harris's departure, Robert Rapson served as acting chief of mission, before current Charge d'Affaires Chris Del Corso was appointed in June.
Some figures emerged as potential candidates for the ambassadorial post in Seoul in spring and summer, but rumors of their appointment soon died away.
Vincent Brooks, former U.S. Forces Korea Commander, was on the list, but an aide said that he had not received an offer from the Biden administration.
U.S. Ambassador to Albania Yuri Kim, the first Korean-American woman to become a U.S. ambassador, has also been mentioned for the post, considering her expertise on East Asian issues, as well as former U.S. Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell.
With the vacancy being prolonged, a group of Korean lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee asked White House Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell for a swift nomination of the new ambassador to South Korea during their visit to the U.S. in October.
Campbell said he "fully understands" the needs to fill the vacancy.
Meanwhile, some other big names have been taking ambassadorial posts in allies and rivals of the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was named as U.S. ambassador to Japan, and seasoned career diplomat and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns was tapped to take the ambassadorship in China. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was nominated as the country's ambassador to India.
| President Moon Jae-in gives former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris a farewell gift at Cheong Wa Dae, Jan. 19, two days before he left Korea after resigning following the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae |
Experts agreed that diplomacy has not been given top priority in the Biden administration, but no name coming up for the South Korea post for such a length of time is causing concern that it is not taking Korean Peninsula issues seriously.
Park Won-gon, North Korean studies professor at Ewha Womans University, said the delay in appointing an ambassador to Seoul reflects that South Korea is not considered as important as other countries even though the Biden administration is moving slowly in its diplomacy.
"It is partly because the Biden administration is focusing on domestic issues in its first year, with less attention being paid to foreign policy," Park said.
Park emphasized that a U.S. ambassador to South Korea holds significance not just in bilateral relations but in a bigger context.
“Previous assistant secretaries of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs used to be those well aware of North Korea issues, but Biden's pick for the post, Daniel Joseph Kritenbrink, is a China expert, so the ambassador to South Korea this time will have a larger role than before in dealing with the North Korea nuclear issue,” Park said.
"There have been some rumors since April, but it is still unpredictable with no visible candidate as of the moment. It could be a signal that South Korea has fallen behind in diplomatic priority.”
Sean King, senior vice president at Park Strategies, noted that the previous ambassadorial vacancy in South Korea lasted over a year before Harris was nominated.
"It took former President Trump 17 months to nominate an ambassador to South Korea, so I'm not overly concerned that President Biden hasn't yet sent forth a name for Seoul," King said.
"What's more, U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim (who himself served as ambassador to South Korea from 2011 to 2014) can also function as a more than capable go-between with Seoul until President Biden makes his choice."
Park took a different position on Sung Kim's role as he doubles as the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia.
“Former top U.S. envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun held important positions in Washington, but Sung Kim is taking the special representative for the DPRK as a dual position, signaling that North Korean issues are not on the Biden administration's top priority list,” Park said.