U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel to Host Dinner Meeting Today with Kim Min-seok and Jang Dong-hyuk... Unusually Invites Them to Ambassador's Residence

[Financial News] Michelle Steel, the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea, has invited the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to the U.S. ambassador's residence in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, for dinner on the 21st.
The dinner came together after Ambassador Steel invited Kim Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea, Jang Dong-hyuk of the People Power Party, and Song Seok-jun, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly. It is considered unusual for the U.S. ambassador to invite the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties to the ambassador's residence for dinner.
The dinner meeting is taking place amid a host of sensitive issues between South Korea and the United States, including the recent issue of deploying troops to the Strait of Hormuz and last-minute negotiations related to investment in the United States. Attention is focused on whether the participants will exchange views on these matters over dinner.
The dinner is also significant because it is being held amid concerns about "Korea passing."
This dinner at the U.S. ambassador's residence will also mark the first time the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties have met at an outside event. The only time the two have met face-to-face was when Kim visited Jang on the 24th of last month, shortly after Kim took office.
Ambassador Steel, a second-generation member of a displaced family, is a prominent Korean American politician from the Republican Party and is considered close to U.S. President Donald Trump. She is also fluent in Korean. A devout Christian, she attends the weekend service at Youngnak Presbyterian Church every week.
Earlier, on the 15th, Ambassador Steel visited the National Assembly and met with the leaders of both parties. On the 19th, she visited Gokseong County in Jeonnam-Gwangju and experienced rice harvesting alongside Min Hyung-bae, the special mayor of the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju area. 


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