Ambassador of the United States to South Korea
주한미국대사
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Y. Kevin Kim Chargé d'affaires since October 27, 2025
Reports to	U.S. Secretary of State
Residence	Habib House
Seat	Seoul,South Korea
Nominator	Thepresident of the United States
Appointer	Thepresident withSenateadvice and consent
Inaugural holder	Lucius H. Foote (as Envoy)
Formation	May 20, 1883
Website	U.S. Embassy - Korea

TheUnited States ambassador to South Korea (Korean: 주한미국대사;Hanja: 駐韓美國大使) is the chief diplomatic representative of the United States accredited to theRepublic of Korea. The ambassador's official title is "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea."^[1]

After theUnited States–Korea Treaty of 1882 was negotiated, diplomatic representatives were sent from Washington toSeoul.^[2] 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 hadannexed Korea and the U.S. no longer had a diplomatic presence in Korea.

Name	Portrait	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Appointer		Notes
Lucius H. Foote		February 27, 1883	May 20, 1883	February 19, 1885		Chester A. Arthur	[3]
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	[4]
Augustine Heard		January 30, 1890	May 26, 1890	June 27, 1893		Benjamin Harrison	[3]
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	[5]

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: theRepublic of Korea (South Korea) and theDemocratic 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 thePyongyang 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.^[6]

TheEmbassy of the United States in Seoul has jurisdiction overAPP Busan.

#	Name	Portrait	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Appointer		Notes
1	John J. Muccio		April 7, 1949	April 20, 1949	September 8, 1952		Harry S. Truman	[6]
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			[7]
5	Walter P. McConaughy		October 5, 1959	December 17, 1959	April 12, 1961			[8]
—	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	[9]
7	Winthrop G. Brown		July 31, 1964	August 14, 1964	June 10, 1967		Lyndon B. Johnson	[10]
8	William J. Porter		June 9, 1967	August 23, 1967	August 18, 1971			[11]
9	Philip C. Habib		September 30, 1971	October 10, 1971	August 19, 1974		Richard Nixon	[12]
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	[13]
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	[14]
—	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	[15]
18	Christopher R. Hill		May 12, 2004	September 1, 2004	April 12, 2005			[16]
—	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	[17]
20	Kathleen Stephens		August 4, 2008	October 6, 2008	October 23, 2011			[1]
21	Sung Kim		October 13, 2011	November 25, 2011	October 24, 2014		Barack Obama	[18]
22	Mark Lippert		September 26, 2014	November 21, 2014	January 20, 2017			[19]
—	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	[20]
—	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	[21]
—	Joseph Y. Yun		(acting)	January 10, 2025	October 24, 2025		(acting)	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim[22]
—	Y. Kevin Kim		(acting)	October 27, 2025	Incumbent		(acting)	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim[23]

• 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

• 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.ISBN 9780807831205;OCLC 263714059
• Funabashi, Yōichi. (2007).The Peninsula Question: a Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.ISBN 9780815730101;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 ofUnited States Army in the Korean War. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
• United States Department of State: Background notes on South Korea

• United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Korea
• United States Department of State: South Korea
• United States Embassy in Seoul

• Ambassadors of the United States to South Korea
• Lists of ambassadors of the United States
• Lists of ambassadors to South Korea

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Use mdy dates from June 2023
• Use American English from June 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Articles containing Korean-language text