Lee rules out Korean troop deployment in Iran war

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that Korea will not deploy troops or military assets in a way that would involve the country in the ongoing war involving Iran, reaffirming Seoul’s principle of noninvolvement.

“There will be no deployment that involves or intervenes in the war. I can state that clearly,” Lee said during a press conference. “We will not make such a troop deployment or dispatch military assets. We have upheld that principle so far and it will remain unchanged.”

Lee said, however, that Korea needs to undertake “minimum activities” to protect its commercial vessels, crude oil shipping routes and the lives and safety of its citizens, as other countries are doing. He acknowledged concerns that the boundary between such protective activities and involvement in the conflict could become blurred.

Lee noted the government is considering strengthening the activities of the Cheonghae Unit, which is already deployed in waters near the Strait of Hormuz to respond to threats to ships, shipping routes and Korean nationals.

But he stressed that Korea would not send combat troops or place Korean service members under foreign command in a way that could put them at risk.

“To make it clear once again, there will be no deployment to the war,” he said.