Opposition parties and civic groups have denounced a plan to widen the Cheonghae naval unit's area of operations from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman as a backdoor deployment. The presidential office insists nothing has been decided and that Seoul's non-involvement principle stands.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the government is weighing an expansion of the Cheonghae Unit's activities, now centered on the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, to waters near the Gulf of Oman, which borders the Strait of Hormuz. Adding assets such as maritime patrol aircraft is also under discussion, and the plan would reportedly be written into the motion to extend the unit's dispatch that will go to the National Assembly.
광고 문의 · 300×250The controversy centers on the P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft. Such planes could be used for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance around Hormuz, and because the Gulf of Oman connects to the strait, critics suspect Seoul is effectively stepping into a US-led military operation.
The extension procedure and the government's explanation
Since the unit was first sent in 2009, the National Assembly has approved an extension motion at a plenary session each year before its mission expires. The current mission runs through December 31, and the government is expected to submit the motion soon.
President Lee Jae-myung said at a press conference on September 18 that there would be no deployment that involves or intervenes in a war, but added that the unit already dispatched is dealing with threats such as piracy and that strengthening that role was under review. Defense Minister Kang Sin-cheol told the Assembly on October 15 that the unit's mission and extension were being examined from several angles. On the 18th a presidential office official said nothing had advanced since the president's remarks and that the government had decided nothing.
The ruling party also moved to calm the row. Rep. Kim Byung-joo, the ruling party's whip on the Assembly defense committee, said on the 16th in a radio interview that this was not a Hormuz deployment at all and that the motion should address how to bolster the unit's self-defense. Floor spokesperson Kim Seong-hoe stressed on the 17th that the president had made clear there would be no war-involving deployment.
Opposition and civic backlash, and the Middle East backdrop
The backlash is strong. Rebuilding Korea Party floor leader Kim Jun-hyung wrote on Facebook on the 16th that it was plainly a deployment joining a US operation and urged the government to keep the president's non-involvement pledge. The Justice Party warned in a statement that Iran and regional armed groups such as the Houthis could read it as Korean participation, while People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy called it a backdoor deployment dressed up as anti-piracy work and an extension of an existing mission. A coalition of progressive civic groups plans a press conference against the indirect deployment in front of the presidential office on the 19th.
The backdrop is the prolonged Middle East war. The same day the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the war was pushing up oil-linked production costs for farmers. Its Cheonghae coverage, however, did not address oil prices or market effects, and details such as troop size, timing and rules of engagement have not been confirmed. The dispute over the scope of operations is likely to continue once the extension motion reaches the Assembly.
