Philip Goldberg picked as U.S. ambassador to Seoul

Diplomacy

Published: 27 Jan. 2022, 18:13 Updated: 27 Jan. 2022, 18:13

Philip Goldberg picked as U.S. ambassador to Seoul

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg speaks during the announcement of the granting of legal status of temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants, in Bogota, Colombia, on Feb. 8, 2021. [REUTERS/LUISA GONZALEZ/YONHAP]

Career diplomat Philip Goldberg was nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to Korea, according to multiple sources.

“All we can confirm now is that the Korean government has been informed by the U.S. of the nomination of the next ambassador,” said a Blue House official on Wednesday. “The announcement of the nomination should be made by the government making it.”

A diplomatic source told the JoongAng Ilbo Wednesday that Goldberg, currently the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, was nominated by the Joe Biden administration last month to be the next ambassador to Korea.

The post has been vacant for a year. Former Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris left it last January.

To appoint an ambassador to a country, a government informs the host country’s government of the nomination. Once the host government approves the nomination, it sends its approval, also known as an agrément.

In the U.S. case, once an agrément is transmitted, the appointment needs approval by the Senate, whose Foreign Relations Committee will question the nominee in a hearing. Once the nominee is approved by the Senate, he or she is officially appointed and goes on to submit his or her credentials to the host government.

Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it could not comment on the matter other than to say, “It is a diplomatic custom for the sending country to announce the nomination of an ambassador.”

Given that the whole process from agrément to official appointment usually takes two to three months, it is unlikely the new ambassador will arrive before Korea's presidential election on March 9.

Goldberg is a so-called career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, having served as ambassador to the Philippines and Bolivia before heading the mission in Colombia. He was assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 2010 to 2013, and before that, the coordinator for the implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea from 2009 to 2010.

The U.S. government has given some 60 diplomats the title of career ambassador, which means they met a number of requirements including serving at least 15 years in a position of responsibility in a government agency and rendering exceptionally distinguished service to the government, according to the State Department. The president nominates ambassadors as career ambassadors, and the Senate needs to confirm the nominations.

His experiences as a negotiator date back to the Dayton Peace Conference, which put an end to the Bosnian War in 1995. Goldberg, as special assistant to top negotiator and ambassador Richard Holbrooke, was a member of the American negotiating team in the lead-up to the peace conference and chief of staff for the American delegation.

If Goldberg is appointed ambassador to Korea, it will be the first time in seven years that a career diplomat takes the top job in Seoul. The last two American ambassadors in Seoul were Mark Lippert, who was chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense at the time of nomination, and Harris, who was head of the U.S. Pacific Command before being named ambassador.

BY PARK HYUN-JU, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]