The ROKS Wang Geon, the 48th Cheonghae Unit vessel, departs Busan Naval Base in May. [Yonhap]
The ROKS Wang Geon, the 48th Cheonghae Unit vessel, departs Busan Naval Base in May. [Yonhap]

Parties within the broader pro-government bloc clashed Thursday over South Korea's Ministry of National Defense's plan to expand the Cheonghae Unit's operational zone southward toward Oman and consider deploying additional assets, including maritime patrol aircraft. The Rebuilding Korea Party and the Progressive Party sharply criticized the move as "a roundabout attempt to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz," while the Democratic Party of Korea rebuffed that characterization, saying the unit's mission is distinct from a troop deployment.

Kim Jun-hyung, floor leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, said at a supreme council meeting Thursday that "a unit sent to stop pirates cannot be sent into the seas of war," urging the government not to "expose the lives and safety of our troops to a war without justification."

Kim also said Wednesday that "the president's principle of non-involvement in war must not be circumvented through an expansion of the Cheonghae Unit's mission," announcing the party's official opposition to the expansion.

Yun Jong-o, floor leader of the Progressive Party, held a press conference Thursday warning that "the government must immediately halt this reckless attempt at a roundabout deployment and return fully to a path of peaceful diplomacy." Yun added that if the government "pushes ahead with a roundabout deployment in disregard of the constitutional spirit, it will face historical and political judgment."

The Democratic Party's floor spokesperson Jeon Eun-su, speaking at a briefing after a policy coordination meeting Thursday, said the zone expansion was driven by "a threefold surge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden" and was "not a roundabout deployment to the Strait of Hormuz." Jeon added that National Assembly approval would be required and that discussions would take place soon, reiterating that criticism framing the move as a backdoor deployment to the Strait of Hormuz was "absolutely not the case."


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