Cabinet OKs naval deployment extension amid accusations of Iran war entanglement

The government insists the deployment will not entail any involvement in the Iran war, but progressive parties and civic groups argue it amounts to a covert commitment to the conflict and are calling for its withdrawal

Participants in a protest condemning the expansion of a Korean naval unit’s operational area as a “backdoor deployment” to the war with Iran hold up pickets as they march toward the Blue House on Nov. 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

 Korea’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a motion to extend the deployment of the Cheonghae Unit and expand its area of operations toward the Strait of Hormuz.

 The government says it will maintain its principle of never involving itself or intervening in the war in Iran, but progressive parties and civic groups have denounced the plan as a “deceptive deployment” and demanded that it be withdrawn.

 The motion was approved at a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung at the Blue House. It was submitted to the National Assembly after Lee signed off on it.

 Under the motion, the unit’s area of operations, which has been limited to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, would extend to the open seas south of Oman, about 650 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz. The deployment would also be extended by one year, through Dec. 31, 2027.

 The motion also includes provisions to boost the unit’s size from approximately 320 personnel to 395 and adding assets such as maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team and unmanned mine-clearing equipment.

 Once submitted to the legislature, it will undergo review by the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee before being put to a plenary vote. It will pass if a majority of lawmakers present vote in favor, with a majority of all sitting lawmakers in attendance.

 “Under the principle of never getting involved or intervening in any war, the Cheonghae Unit will spare no effort in fulfilling its mission of protecting our nationals and vessels,” the Ministry of National Defense said.

 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “proceeding with the motion to extend the deployment under the principle of noninvolvement and nonintervention in the war.” The ministry was responding to remarks made Monday by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, who said Tehran hoped South Korea would not come to be seen as an accomplice to military aggression by aligning itself with the US and others.

 Civic groups and progressive opposition parties were quick to blast the expanded deployment.

 The Emergency Action to Stop US Wars of Aggression and Oppose the Deployment of Korean Troops, a coalition of civic groups including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, held a rally near Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul demanding the withdrawal of the plan, condemning it as “essentially a backdoor scheme” to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz.

 Lee Mi-sun, spokesperson for the minor Progressive Party, criticized the move as “disguised participation in war and deceptive troop deployment that sacrifices the lives and security of the people.”