President Lee Jae-myung said talks on South Korea's investment package for the United States are back under discussion because "there are parts that are not easy to agree to." On a possible deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, he ruled out any mission involving combat while hinting at expanding the role of the Cheonghae Unit, though hurdles including National Assembly approval remain.
At a press conference on the 18th, Lee said of the investment negotiations: "People say it is nearly settled, but when I looked at the details, there were some parts that are not easy to agree to, so we are talking about it again." He also pointed to "commercial rationality," one of the conditions attached to the investment package, saying, "Once we began detailed consultations, that started to become an issue."
The remarks suggest that while the first project under the investment package has been agreed in broad terms, final reviews and consultations are under way over profitability. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on the 17th that the matter was "not so much a disagreement between Seoul and Washington as an effort to make domestic procedures airtight." On the construction of semiconductor plants in the United States, Lee said, "We will respect the views of companies and work toward a reasonable conclusion that protects South Korea's national interests."
On the Hormuz deployment, he drew a line, saying, "There will be no deployment that involves or intervenes in a war." He added, however, that "it is also clear that we must carry out minimum activities, as other countries do, to protect our own merchant ships, crude oil shipping routes, and the lives and safety of our people."
The comments are read as signaling that with public opposition to a deployment substantial, the government will refuse combat participation but deploy selectively and strategically depending on conditions. Doo Jin-ho, a visiting research fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said: "If combat personnel were sent and casualties occurred, it would lead to falling approval ratings and deeper conflict within the party. But the Hormuz issue has an enormous impact on our economy and security, and as a U.S. ally we cannot avoid contributing, so the message is that troops will be sent based on conditions and circumstances."
Lee signaled plans to draw on the Cheonghae Unit, which operates in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, saying, "The Cheonghae Unit has already been deployed and is responding to threats to public safety, and it is true that we are reviewing and weighing ways to strengthen that."
The Hormuz deployment is an issue on which U.S. President Donald Trump has twice voiced dissatisfaction with South Korea directly, amid delays in the investment talks. The government had planned to review a report from a Defense Ministry field survey team that recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, but the National Security Council meeting scheduled for the 17th was canceled, leaving the matter undiscussed.
On U.S.-North Korea dialogue, Lee said there was no need to worry that South Korea would be passed over. He added, "In the early stages as the dialogue advances, we may be somewhat removed from it, but our government cannot fail to have a role in the progress of U.S.-North Korea relations and in their cooperation."
