US Senate unanimously approves Goldberg as new ambassador to Seoul

Philip Goldberg / AP-Yonhap

The U.S. Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve the nomination of Philip Goldberg, a career diplomat, as new U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

The vote came one day after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to endorse Goldberg's nomination as the new chief of the U.S. mission to Seoul.

As a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, the highest diplomatic rank in U.S. service, Goldberg has served various posts at the U.S. Department of State, including the assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research.

He has also served as coordinator for Implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions on North Korea and as ambassador to the Philippines.

Goldberg has been serving as ambassador to Colombia since September 2019.

He will replace Harry Harris, who stepped down early last year when President Joe Biden took office. (Yonhap)