Seoul Expands Anti-Piracy Unit Toward Hormuz, Adds 75 Troops
The move will add 75 personnel and lift the unit’s total strength to 395, a national news agency reported.
For months, Seoul has said it was weighing whether to send forces to the strategic waterway. President Lee Jae Myung, however, has ruled out dispatching combat troops, stressing that the country would not deploy military personnel in a way that could draw it into an overseas conflict.
On the next steps, the ministry said it is planning to “seek Cabinet review and presidential approval for the move before submitting a related motion to the National Assembly.”
The Strait of Hormuz has remained at the center of the conflict between the United States and Iran since the US and Israel launched military operations against Tehran in February.
The Cheonghae unit has been deployed since 2009, and its mandate requires annual parliamentary approval. According to the public broadcaster, the unit has operated mainly in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, as well as in “contingency zones designated to protect South Korean citizens.”
The broadcaster added that the ministry’s planned revised motion would extend the unit’s area of operations to the southern tip of Oman’s Duqm Port, roughly 650 kilometers (403.8 miles) from Hormuz.
“The ministry is also seeking to send reinforcements to the unit, including a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, various unmanned mine countermeasure assets and an explosive ordnance disposal team,” the report added.
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