United States Ambassador to South Korea

Ambassador of the United States to South Korea 주한미국대사
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Mark Lippert since October 2014
Nominator	Barack Obama
Inaugural holder	Lucius H. Foote as Envoy, Resident Minister and Counsul-General
Formation	1883
Website	U.S. Embassy - Seoul

The current United States Ambassador to South Korea is Mark Lippert. The ambassador's official title is "United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea."^[1]

Kingdom of Korea

After the United States–Korea Treaty of 1882 was negotiated, diplomatic representatives were sent from Washington to Seoul.^[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 had annexed Korea and the U.S. no longer had a diplomatic presence in Korea.

Envoy, Resident Minister and Counsul-General

• Lucius H. Foote, 1883–1885^[3]
• George Clayton Foulk, 1885–1886
• William Harwar Parker, 1886
• George Clayton Foulk, 1886–1887^[4]
• Hugh A. Dinsmore, 1887–1890^[5]
• Augustine Heard, 1890–1894^[3]
• John M.B. Sill, 1894–1897^[3]
• Horace Newton Allen, 1894–1897^[3]
• Edwin V. Morgan, 1905^[6]

Republic of Korea

At the end of World War II, American forces accepted Imperial 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: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic 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 the Pyongyang 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.^[7]

The Embassy of the United States in Seoul has jurisdiction over APP Busan.

Ambassador

• John J. Muccio, 1949–1952^[7]
• Ellis O. Briggs, 1952–1955
• William S.B. Lacy, 1955–1955
• Walter C. Dowling, 1956–1959^[8]
• Walter P. McConaughy, 1959–1961^[9]
• Samuel D. Berger, 1961–1964^[10]
• Winthrop G. Brown, 1964–1967^[11]
• William J. Porter, 1967–1971^[12]
• Philip C. Habib, 1971–1974^[13]
• Richard L. Sneider, 1974–1978
• William H. Gleysteen, Jr., 1978–1981^[14]
• Richard L. Walker, 1981–1986
• James R. Lilley, 1986–1989
• Donald Gregg, 1989–1993
• James T. Laney, 1993–1996
• Stephen W. Bosworth, 1997–2001^[15]
• Thomas C. Hubbard, 2001–2004^[16]
• Christopher R. Hill, 2004–2005^[17]
• Alexander R. Vershbow, 2005–2008^[18]
• Kathleen Stephens, 2008–2011^[1]
• Sung Kim, 2011–2014
• Mark Lippert, 2014–present

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

As of 2015, the U.S. has no diplomatic presence in North Korea.^[19]

See also

• 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

Notes

1. Embassy of the United States, Seoul, Ambassador
2. 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, pp. 29-32., p. 29, at Google Books
3. Korean Mission p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books
4. Foulk served two tours of duty. He relieved Ambassador Parker, whose alcoholism affected his ability to fulfill his responsibilities.
5. U.S. Congress, Dismore bio
6. Korean Mission p. 32, p. 32, at Google Books; note that Morgan's term was brief. He (a) presented credentials on June 26, 1905; (b) closed the Legation, November 28, 1905; and (c) left Seoul, December 8, 1905 after Japan took over responsibility for Korean foreign relations
7. Schnabel, James F. (1972). Policy and Direction: the First Year, p. 28., p. 28, at Google Books
8. Brazinsky, George. (2007). Nation Building in South Korea, pp. 105-106, p. 105, at Google Books
9. Brazinsky,pp. 111-112, p. 111, at Google Books
10. Brazinsky, pp. 118-120, p. 118, at Google Books
11. Brazinsky, p. 135, p. 135, at Google Books
12. Brazinsky, pp. 150-160, p. 150, at Google Books
13. Brazinsky, p. 126, p. 126, at Google Books
14. Brazinsky, p. 226, p. 226, at Google Books
15. Funabashi, Yōichi. (2007). The Peninsula Question: a Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis, p. 225-226., p. 225, at Google Books
16. Funabashi, p. 108., p. 108, at Google Books
17. Funabashi, p. 372., p. 372, at Google Books
18. Funabashi, p. 176., p. 176, at Google Books
19. "North Korea: Diplomatic representation from the US". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 20 March 2014.

References

• 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 of United States Army in the Korean War. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
• United States Department of State: Background notes on South Korea
•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).

External links

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