New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg (left) on June 2 is sworn into office at the U.S. Department of State in Washington. (Twitter account of U.S. Embassy in Seoul)
By Joung Haseung
New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg on July 10 arrived in Seoul.
Landing at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport in the afternoon, he greeted journalists by saying “Hello (Annyeong hasaeyo)” in Korean.
“Together we can do a lot as global partners, as an alliance, to provide even more security and more prosperity for our two countries and peoples,” he said.
“Relations between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea were forged in conflict, a great alliance, and now we’re moving, thanks to agreements between our two presidents, to a global partnership.”
The ambassador also said he plans to travel around Korea, from Seoul to Jeju Island, Gyeonggi-do Province, Gwangju and Busan, and hopes to meet people from a variety of backgrounds.
He ended his greeting by saying “Thank you (Gamsahamnida)” in Korean.
The first official to fill the post in nearly 1 1/2 years, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 5 and took his oath of office at the U.S. Department of State on June 2 in Washington.
He has served as ambassador to the Philippines and Bolivia and charge d’affaires in Chile and Cuba. His most recent post was ambassador to Colombia from 2019. From 2009-10 under the Obama administration, he was coordinator for the implementation of United Nations sanctions on North Korea and led the execution of U.N. Resolution 1874 on sanctions against Pyeongyang.
The diplomat holds the rank of career ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service, and has received the Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Service Awards and the department’s Distinguished Honor Award.
jhaseung@korea.kr
