Yoon Sang-hyun says Strait of Hormuz deployment overdue, urges alliance and national interest calculus

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said Monday that South Korea should deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the move is already overdue.

Appearing on CBS Radio's Park Sung-tae News Show that day, Yoon said President Donald Trump had requested a deployment in March, and that South Korea's president had told Britain, France and other countries in April that Seoul would make a substantive contribution.

"We should have sent something to the outer reaches of the Strait of Hormuz in March or April this year to provide non-combat support," Yoon said. "We should have already been doing things like search-and-rescue operations. That would have earned us goodwill with the United States."

Yoon also said US pressure on the South Korean government has been intensifying. "Just look at how much the United States is pressing this government," he said. "They are applying pressure on trade, saying Seoul is not helping with Ukraine and not supplying Cheongung-2 missiles."

He also said a uranium enrichment agreement Seoul had committed to pursue has gone unaddressed. "There has been no word on that, and no word on nuclear-powered submarines either," he said. "And on top of that, isn't the government talking about meeting with North Korea?"

Yoon said a troop deployment is the right choice for resolving the complex issues at hand. "Looking at the full picture — not just Iraq and Iran, but the broader framework of the South Korea-US relationship and inter-Korean relations — this should have been done from the standpoint of the alliance and national interest," he said.

He acknowledged that the justification for deployment is weak, but said South Korea had missed its chance to act on its own terms. "We needed something to show for ourselves, but we haven't managed that," he said. "Now aren't we just being pushed into it?"

Yoon said energy security is another reason South Korea must send forces to the Strait of Hormuz. "Even if it is dangerous, can't we ultimately find a justification?" he said. "Eighty percent of our crude oil and 15 to 20 percent of our natural gas come through the Strait of Hormuz. If we are going to secure our own energy supply route, shouldn't South Korea naturally be the one to do it?"

On the question of combat, however, Yoon said South Korea must keep its distance. "We need to stay away from where there is fighting — that requires a strategic judgment," he said. "Our mission must be clearly defined."

Yoon said the deployment question must be addressed as part of a broader relationship with the United States. "This has to be handled in the context of the overall relationship — economics, trade, nuclear agreements and all," he said, adding that those opposed to the deployment need to be persuaded.