South Korean groups urge Lee to reject US Hormuz pressure
12:31, 09/09/2026, Wednesday
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File photoRepresentatives of South Korean civic organizations and opposition lawmakers urged President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday to reject US pressure for military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, warning that sending assets to the strategic waterway would effectively make Seoul a participant in the ongoing conflict.
Representatives of South Korean civic groups and opposition lawmakers on Wednesday urged President Lee Jae Myung’s administration to reject Washington’s pressure to deploy military assets to the Strait of Hormuz, warning that such a move would effectively draw Seoul into the ongoing conflict. The groups — representing labor, religious and other civic organizations — gathered outside the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul to demand that Washington withdraw its request and that Seoul refuse any troop deployment, according to local outlet Newsis. Participants later marched toward the presidential office and announced plans for another anti-deployment demonstration on Saturday.
Political opposition joins campaign
Lawmakers Kim Hyung-yeon of the Rebuilding Korea Party and Yoon Jong-oh of the Progressive Party joined the press conference to support the civic campaign. The groups emphasized that dispatching South Korean military assets to the Persian Gulf would constitute direct participation in the conflict, effectively making Seoul a party to the war, according to Newsis.
Assessment mission to UAE
The protest comes as Seoul weighs possible contributions to securing the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed US pressure. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had dispatched an assessment team to the United Arab Emirates to examine security conditions, though officials stressed the mission did not presume a military deployment. US President Donald Trump in March urged South Korea and four other countries to send warships to help secure the vital oil shipping route.
Iran issues warning
Iran on Monday warned that any South Korean military participation in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz would have "serious consequences," according to official media in Tehran. The statement came as Washington continues to build international naval support for operations in the strategic waterway, which has been blocked for months amid hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran.