Public opposition is mounting within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and allied progressive parties after the government began weighing a troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. With approval ratings for both the party and the presidential office trending lower, some worry the Hormuz issue could become a new source of conflict inside the ruling bloc.
The Democratic Party leadership is holding a cautious line, mindful of how the party split over sending troops to Iraq under the Roh Moo-hyun government. With no concrete government policy yet confirmed, the leadership says it will watch parliamentary discussions rather than push a party position.
Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ki-heon said on Facebook on the 4th that he opposes the reported review of a Hormuz deployment. "President Trump is expressing dissatisfaction that we are not helping with military operations in Iran, and is making high-handed gestures that even hint at trade pressure," Lee said. "I express regret at the attitude of using an alliance as a tool of pressure."
"Deploying our military to the Strait of Hormuz cannot be tolerated under any pretext," he said. "Even if it is a non-combat force, its essence is clearly participation in a war." He added, "We cannot drive our people and our military into an open-ended war that the United States started and became mired in."
The party leadership says parliamentary discussions should come first, given that the government has not set an official policy. Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters after a budget policy meeting in Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, "An issue like this requires gathering enough input from the standing committees, so it would be good to first look at the views coming out of the National Defense Committee." Floor Spokesperson Lee Ju-hee also told reporters at the National Assembly, "This is not something under particular review at the floor level," adding, "It seems it should be discussed in the National Defense Committee."
Some on the National Defense Committee argue any deployment should be decided on the basis of Korea's own interests. "We cannot simply do whatever the United States demands," one committee member said. "We need to judge whether there is a need on our side, and if there is, the mission would have to be set appropriately in line with that."
The Democratic Party's caution is also read as reflecting its experience with internal conflict over the Iraq deployment. Under the Roh Moo-hyun government, the then-ruling Democratic Party split 49 in favor and 43 against in the plenary vote on the Iraq deployment motion. Because that issue led to severe division within the ruling camp, the analysis is that the leadership has little choice but to guard against a repeat this time.
Opposition is also growing among progressive parties in the broader ruling bloc. With the Lee Jae-myung government stressing unity and solidarity within its camp, a visible rift with parties such as the Rebuilding Korea Party over the deployment could widen into a fracture across the entire ruling bloc — a burden for the Democratic Party.
Rebuilding Korea Party Floor Leader Kim Joon-hyung said in a commentary, "Why on earth should the Republic of Korea be considering sending troops to this illegal war of aggression?" He added, "Even the Yoon Suk-yeol government did not openly send troops to the war in Ukraine." Cho Kuk, head of the party's Innovation Policy Institute, posted on Facebook the text of Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution: "The Republic of Korea shall renounce all aggressive wars."
Progressive Party lawmaker Jung Hye-kyung added, "What President Lee Jae-myung should be doing now is stopping the war, not joining the fight in Hormuz." She said, "You cannot wield power above the Constitution."
