Korean organizations join forces to oppose deployment to Strait of Hormuz

By Kim Hye-yun | September 9, 2026 | This article was produced by Hankyoreh

News Update - Facing stiff public opposition to pressure from the Trump Administration for the Republic of Korea to lend military support to the US/Israeli war against Iran -55% of the population is opposed according to a Gallup Korea survey- President Lee Jae Myung announced, September 18, 2026: "There will be no deployment of troops or dispatch of military assets to be involved in or intervene in this war."

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

Korea “must under no circumstances become caught up in a war of aggression, and under no circumstances go forward with a deployment,” groups said.

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups spanning religious organizations, anti-war groups, women’s rights groups, human rights advocates and organized labor gathered in central Seoul on Wednesday to condemn the US for pressuring Korea to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz. 

The groups gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts that afternoon to call on the Lee Jae Myung administration to reject US coercion. 

On Friday, the Blue House underscored the importance of freedom of navigation in the strait while clarifying that it was “still reviewing” the possibility of a deployment and that “nothing has been decided.”

Then on Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense dispatched a team to the Middle East to assess the situation on the ground there.

Those gathered at Wednesday’s rally said that these moves “are hard to see as anything other than the first steps toward a deployment.” 

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

As their grounds for opposing the deployment of Korean troops to aid US efforts in the strait, participants cited Article 5 of Korea’s Constitution, which reads, “The Republic of Korea shall endeavor to maintain international peace and shall renounce all aggressive wars.”

Condemning US President Donald Trump for openly strong-arming Korea to deploy troops, those gathered said that Korea “must under no circumstances become caught up in a war of aggression, and under no circumstances go forward with a deployment.”

The protesters said they would hold a march on Saturday to demonstrate the people’s determination to stop a deployment. The march will pass the US Embassy in Seoul before ending at the Blue House.

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

Representatives of 601 civic and social groups in Korea gathered on the steps of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul to oppose a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz and to condemn US pressure for deployments. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)