Plan to move naval unit closer to Hormuz draws criticism from Korea’s progressives

Members of the Cheonghae Unit’s 48th contingent attend a send-off ceremony before the ROKS Wang Geon departs Busan Naval Base in May 2026. (Yonhap)

Korea’s government plans to seek parliamentary approval to extend the Cheonghae Unit’s deployment by expanding its operating area to waters south of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz and dispatching additional assets such as a maritime patrol aircraft. 

While officials say the move is needed to protect Korean nationals and vessels amid a recent surge in piracy, critics argue it is a backdoor attempt to pave the way for a troop deployment.

Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday that it plans to submit to the National Assembly a revised motion to extend the deployment of the Cheonghae Unit, which protects merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, by expanding its mission area and adding new assets.

The core of that proposal is to expand the Cheonghae Unit’s operational area from its current parameters — “waters in and around the Gulf of Aden and waters designated during activities to protect Korean nationals in an emergency” — to “the open sea south of Oman.”

As such, the unit’s operating range will roughly double from the current 600 nautical miles (about 1,100 kilometers). 

The mission area will reach the southern end of Oman’s Port of Duqm, which lies 350 nautical miles (about 650 kilometers) from the Strait of Hormuz in a straight line.

The Gulf of Oman, which directly adjoins the Strait of Hormuz, is not included in the expanded operating range. 

According to the revised motion, a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, along with unmanned minesweeping assets including unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vessels and remotely operated vehicles, and an explosive ordnance disposal team of 30 people will also be sent. 

The unit’s personnel will grow by 75 to a total of 395. The revised motion cleared a vice-ministerial meeting on the same day, and after passing a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and receiving presidential approval, it will be submitted to the National Assembly for consent. 

“As coalition forces concentrated in the Gulf of Oman, pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia more than tripled — last year, there were 11 incidents compared to 36 so far this year — and the pirates appear to be expanding their operational areas to the outer reaches of the waters south of the Gulf of Oman,” the Defense Ministry said, attributing spiking pirate activity in the region as the motivation to expand the Cheonghae Unit’s range and the scale of its military assets. 

However, many believe this decision was made amid repeated US pressure to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz, warnings from Iran, and domestic public opposition to deployment.

The government added “support for restoring navigation freedom on international maritime routes” to the Cheonghae Unit’s mission in the revised motion.

Progressive parties and civic groups have strongly condemned the move. 

“We cannot send a unit we dispatched to stave off pirates into the ocean of war,” said Rep. Kim Joon-hyung, the Rebuilding Korea Party’s floor leader.

The Progressive Party and Justice Party called the move a “risky provocation” and called for the revocation of the bill.

The People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy also issued a statement, saying, “This is no more than a roundabout way of deploying troops. This unjustifiable move to expand a unit’s operational area will only result in Korea being dragged into the US’ war of aggression.”