Lee says S. Korea reviewing possible contribution to Hormuz but will not get involved in war

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday highlighted the need for the country to protect its citizens and national interests in the Strait of Hormuz but said there will be no troop dispatch that might lead to the country's involvement in an overseas conflict.

"Let it be clear. There will be no dispatch of troops that will lead to involvement in a conflict. There will be no engagement or involvement in war," Lee said in a televised press conference.

"The principle of no engagement or involvement in war has been observed so far and will continue to be observed in the future," he asserted.

The president's remarks came as Seoul is deliberating making what it calls "contributions" to ensuring freedom of navigation along the key transit route in the face of mounting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

A South Korean on-site investigation team returned home last week from a mission to the United Arab Emirates to assess the overall Middle East safety situation, in an apparent sign of preparations for a possible military dispatch.

The president said it was also clear that the country needs to conduct "at least the minimum level of activities" to safeguard its citizens, ships and the transportation route for crude oil in the area, as other countries do.

South Korea's Cheonghae military unit has expanded the scope of its mission to carry out relevant activities in the area, but "it is true that we are reviewing and thinking about ways to strengthen (measures) on this," he said.

Asked about the possibility of resuming dialogue between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump, Lee said, "The possibility cannot be ruled out although it would be admittedly difficult," adding he could not pin down how likely it was.

"It is clear that we should do our utmost to make the possibility come true," the president said, adding that the dialogue, if resumed, would serve as an important stepping stone for ensuring inter-Korean relations and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

"The resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue would be far easier than resuming inter-Korean dialogue and help resume dialogue between the two Koreas," he said.

"I am continuing to play my role as a preliminary mediator to make North Korea-U.S. dialogue possible," he added.

The press conference, the seventh since Lee took office in June last year, came as Lee's approval ratings have plummeted to their lowest point in the mid-30 percent range in recent weeks, especially among young voters, mainly due to runaway housing prices and other political controversies.

Addressing domestic issues, the president reaffirmed that he had no intention of seeking reelection through constitutional revision, also noting his reelection is impossible under the Constitution.

"I once again make it clear that I have no intention to seek reelection," he told a televised press conference.

His remarks follow repeated calls from the opposition bloc for the president to declare his intentions, accusing him of seeking reelection, despite a constitutional clause that stipulates any changes to the presidential system shall not apply to the president in office at the time of a revision.

"My reelection through constitutional revision is constitutionally impossible," Lee said, while describing the current Constitution as outdated and stressing the need to amend it through reasonable discussion and public consensus.

Lee also addressed his declining approval ratings, saying that through deliberations he had come to realize that "the public is always right," and that all problems were due to his "own shortcomings."

The president additionally asked the National Assembly not to seek the cancellation of his indictments in a bill aimed at an independent-counsel investigation into prosecutors' inquiries into high-profile cases involving him.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea submitted the bill earlier this year, accusing prosecutors under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government of indicting Lee on fabricated charges in a real-estate development corruption case and others. The bill, still pending at the National Assembly, includes provisions effectively allowing the special counsel to nullify the indictments.

The bill, combined with Lee's prosecution reform, has fueled opposition accusations that Lee was trying to have his own indictments cancelled after a number of trials he faced were suspended following his election and inauguration.

"On this occasion, I clearly ask the National Assembly to delete the provisions on the special counsel's authority to handle indictments and focus solely on finding the truth," Lee said.

Still, he supported the need for a special counsel investigation into suspected fabrication of charges against him, arguing that politically motivated investigations under the Yoon administration hurt not only him but also journalists, politicians and government officials.

"Cases of fabricated indictments like these need to be fairly and transparently looked into to find the truth through a special counsel probe (initiated) by the National Assembly," the president said.

Speaking of Seoul's ongoing negotiations to seal its first investment project in the U.S. under a broader 2025 tariff reduction agreement with the Trump administration, Lee said the government is in a "fierce debate" with Washington to finalize it in a way that benefits both countries.

The president also reiterated his commitment to stabilizing the runaway housing market, pledging to take all necessary measures, including promptly increasing the housing supply.

He also admitted policy shortcomings in the adoption of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), after the government came under heated criticism that the funds, launched in May, amplified stock market volatility.