'Firmly reject US demands': Civil society groups march to Cheong Wa Dae over Strait of Hormuz deployment

Civil society groups rallied in central Seoul on Saturday, calling on the government to halt its review of a potential troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and urging peace in the Middle East.

More than 540 religious and civic organizations — including People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Alliance for Self-Reliant Reunification and Peace — held a "Citizens' March Against Hormuz Deployment" rally at 4 p.m. in front of the Le Meilleur building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Participants carried pickets bearing slogans such as "Stop the US war of aggression" and "South Korea must firmly reject deployment to the Strait of Hormuz," voicing alarm over the government's moves toward sending troops.

"There are signs that the Ministry of National Defense has been following deployment procedures, including recently dispatching an advance survey team to the region," the groups said. "Sending South Korean troops to participate in US military operations against Iran would be clear involvement in a war of aggression."

Monk Seonwoo of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, speaking from the podium, warned against the cycle of violence, saying "there can be no peace built on the blood of other nations." Kim Suk-young, co-chair of Political Mamas — whose child is about to enter military service — also said that "if the Lee Jae Myung government pushes ahead with the deployment, it must bear full and grave responsibility for that decision."

After the rally, participants marched past the US Embassy in Seoul and on to Cheong Wa Dae. Meanwhile, Candlelight Action, a progressive civic group, held a separate anti-deployment rally near the US Embassy at 5 p.m. that day.