South Korea considering sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz, caught between improving US-South Korean relations and domestic opposition

[Seoul Current Affairs] The South Korean government has begun to take a positive stance regarding US President Trump's request to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz. South Korea, which has high hopes for a summit meeting between the US and North Korea, cannot give up on its demands, and if it decides to send the troops, it would improve the currently strained US-South Korea relations. However, the dispatch requires the consent of the Diet, and some members of the reform camp have already expressed their opposition. If the bill is forced, it could be a further blow to the Lee Jae-myung administration, whose approval ratings are on the decline.

A South Korean presidential official said on the 4th that ``nothing has been decided,'' but ``there are a variety of options, including participating in combat, non-combat, and limited to search, and we are comprehensively considering them.'' "We are proceeding with discussions with the US, UK, and France," he said.

When Trump announced on August 16 that he had ordered a reduction in joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, he expressed dissatisfaction with President Lee Jae-myung's refusal to participate in efforts to "denuclearize Iran."

Conflicts have surfaced between the United States and South Korea since the beginning of this year over whether to hold the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang responsible for a large-scale customer information leak in South Korea. The US government is also said to be pressuring South Korean companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to build semiconductor factories in the US.

On the other hand, regarding the situation in North Korea, South Korea has no choice but to rely on the initiative of Mr. Trump, who has shown an eagerness to meet with Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, making it difficult to reject requests for military dispatch.

However, on the 4th, Kim Jun-hyung, floor leader of the progressive minority opposition Fatherland Revolution Party, argued, ``Why should we consider sending troops to an illegal war of aggression?'' Lee Ki-heon, a lawmaker from the progressive ruling Democratic Party of Korea who is a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, also complained, ``We cannot send our people and military to a war with no end in sight that the United States has started.''

There is deep-rooted anti-American sentiment among some in the reformist camp, and the ruling party still has the legacy of a fiercely contested party representative election on August 17th. If the ``troop dispatch'' consent bill is submitted to the Diet, there is a possibility that there will be a rebellion, and if it is rejected, the damage to the government will be immeasurable. At a meeting with civil society officials on the 4th, President Lee reportedly said, ``It's really difficult to talk about sending troops. We're not making any progress.''