Yoon remains cautious over Israel-Hamas war as Saudis side with Palestine

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol has taken a cautious stance regarding the war between Israel and Hamas due to Korea’s economic partnership with Saudi Arabia, whose crown prince said he will stand by the Palestinians.

During a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Yoon urged the government to respond promptly to external volatility and prevent the war’s impact from spilling over into the domestic economy.

“Military conflict and war in the Middle East will push up global oil prices and cause inflation to affect the living costs of the people,” Yoon said.

“With the war in Ukraine coinciding with Middle East tensions, external economic uncertainties could increase and affect domestic interest rates due to heightened instability in international financial markets.”

Yoon mentioned the potential economic impacts and the ongoing situation of the war, but refrained from expressing any diplomatic messages in his remarks.

“While Iran and Hezbollah support Hamas and the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany are supporting Israel’s right to self defense, we cannot rule out the chance of the conflict expanding into an international dispute,” Yoon said.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas, the latter of which controls Palestine’s Gaza Strip, is now showing clear signs of developing into a full-scale war, with the number of deaths surpassing 1,500 as of Tuesday morning.

So far, Korea has been maintaining a cautious stance on the war, with its foreign ministry saying it “strongly condemns indiscriminative attacks waged on Israel from the Gaza Strip.”

This is in sharp contrast to the joint statement from the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, who have expressed “steadfast and united support” for the state of Israel and “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas. So far, Yoon has been aligning his messages on international disputes with those countries, which he said are “nations sharing the same values.”

A fireball erupts from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Monday (local time). The death toll from the assault by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli territory rose to 900, and Israel has retaliated with a barrage of strikes on Gaza, raising the death toll there to 687. AFP-Yonhap

Yoon's cautious stance may have to do with Korea’s efforts to enhance economic partnership with Middle Eastern countries ― particularly Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CNN that the war could have been “motivated” by an attempt to disrupt ongoing efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as “Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran” oppose normalization. The U.S. has been assisting in the normalization of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties.

Experts said, however, that Saudi Arabia will have no choice but to stand by Palestine if the casualties grow in the Gaza Strip. The Financial Times reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that his country stands by the Palestinians and was working to end the conflict.

This puts Seoul in an awkward position because the U.S., Korea’s closest ally, is expressing its strong support for Israel, while Yoon is looking to help Korean companies participate in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM smart city project and attract investment from the kingdom.

Due to this, there have been views expressed that Seoul should be careful about making any assertive statements, such as aligning Korea and Israel in the conflict, because it may affect Seoul’s relations with not only Saudi Arabia but also the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Middle Eastern nations.

Meanwhile, the government is striving to evacuate Korean nationals in Israel as the war shows signs of expanding further.

According to the foreign ministry, Tuesday, there were 1,050 Koreans staying in Israel, This included approximately 480 short-term visitors, 191 of whom left the country through a Korean Air flight from Tel Aviv, which was scheduled to land at Incheon International Airport early Wednesday.