National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Oct. 30 that South Korea is considering changes to its Cheonghae naval unit as part of efforts to support safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Wi said the government aims to protect South Korean citizens, merchant vessels and crude-oil shipping routes. He said Seoul would maintain the minimum activity necessary while contributing internationally, and reiterated its policy of “never becoming involved in or intervening in war, under any circumstances.” Wi said officials would present specific steps to lawmakers and the public after determining them.
The official statement did not name a proposed operating area or additional equipment. The Korea Herald reported Oct. 30 that an unnamed presidential-office official described a wider area of operations toward Hormuz and maritime patrol aircraft as options being considered. The official told the newspaper that no option had been selected.
The government’s stated concern includes energy shipments. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said April 15 that 69% of South Korea’s crude oil imports came from the Middle East. The ministry release did not say how much of those imports traveled through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Cheonghae Unit has operated in the Gulf of Aden since March 2009, according to a Ministry of National Defense history, which says the contingent protects South Korean ships from piracy. The ministry’s history also records a temporary expansion in January 2020 that brought the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz into the unit’s operating area.
Article 60(2) of South Korea’s Constitution gives the National Assembly the right to consent to the dispatch of armed forces to foreign states. The Ministry of National Defense had not settled details of an extension to the unit’s authorization, which is due to expire Dec. 31, 2026, The Korea Herald and The Korea Times reported Oct. 16, citing the ministry. Wi did not announce a date for a decision on the current review.
