South Korean Citizens Protest Against Potential Military Deployment to Strait of Hormuz

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, dozens of South Korean citizens demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday, voicing their opposition to the possibility of deploying South Korean naval forces to the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The protesters held placards reading “Do not join the war of aggression” and condemned Washington’s “illegal war” against Iran.

These protests occurred as the South Korean government is considering its potential involvement in ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Seoul to assist the United States in the region.

Demonstrators chanted, “We cannot send our youth to the sea of death.” The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global energy transportation, with approximately 20 percent of the world’s energy supply passing through it.

The gathering took place one day after the South Korean Ministry of Defense announced that it had dispatched a fact-finding mission to the United Arab Emirates to assess the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Ministry of Defense asserted that the mission was for assessment purposes and no decision had been made regarding troop deployment to Hormuz.