Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said South Korea's position is to "take part in international cooperation" regarding a U.S. request to deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party used strong language, saying they were "absolutely opposed to a deployment," and pressed the government to resolve the issue during a question session with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. People Power Party lawmakers sharpened their criticism of what they described as conflicting positions between the government and the ruling party.
Meeting reporters at Incheon International Airport on the 17th before departing for the United States, Cho was asked about the Hormuz deployment and said, "Our position has not yet been decided, and we are reviewing it in light of various factors." He added, "Above all, our position is to take part in international cooperation while giving priority to the safety of our citizens and to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."
At the question session that day, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik said, "In the case of the Iraq deployment, there was justification because the Sept. 11 attacks were a war in which the United States was attacked." He added, "This time, it is rather a war the United States started." He went on to say, "Even looking at U.S. opinion polls, 66% say Americans do not support this war. Young people could be pushed into a situation where their lives and safety may be compromised." He said, "We cannot respond without principles."
Lee Ki-heon of the same party stressed, "We are absolutely opposed to taking direct part in a war. About 2,000 Korean nationals live in Qatar alone, right in front of the Strait of Hormuz. In terms of the national interest and the safety of Koreans abroad, we cannot possibly agree to a deployment itself." Kim Joon-hyung of the Rebuilding Korea Party said, "I get the sense that the government has already decided on a deployment and is leaking information to gauge public opinion." On Cho's departure for the United States, he complained, "We are the ones making the investments in the U.S. and we are the ones sending troops, so why are we being called to the principal's office?"
In response, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Dae-sik said, "A deployment should be coordinated between the government and the ruling party before it is discussed at a standing committee meeting, but today the general view among Democratic Party lawmakers, the governing party, is opposition." He criticized, "If the views of the governing party and the government differ this sharply, how can the public trust them? The public is uneasy." Ko Dong-jin of the same party also said pointedly, "Seeing Democratic Party lawmakers oppose this so actively makes me wonder whether this is an issue that has not even been coordinated internally."
