As our government has effectively begun preparatory procedures following U.S. President Donald Trump's request to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz, a public objection emerged from the ruling party on the 9th.
In particular, after it was confirmed that the Ministry of National Defense sent a fact-finding team last week to assess the on-the-ground situation in the Strait of Hormuz, calls for caution on deployment are growing among senior lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Kim Byung-joo, a Democratic Party lawmaker who serves as a secretary on the National Defense Committee, said on KBS Radio's "Rapid-fire Interview" that day, "Sending a fact-finding team appears to be one step in a review process that checks everything," adding, "Because there is no just cause for us to participate in the deployment due to the war of aggression by the United States and Israel, we must not get drawn into it."
He added, "Nevertheless, we are deeply weighing this to protect our energy security."
Kim noted, "After the end of hostilities and going forward, there will likely be frameworks that guarantee freedom of navigation led by the United States and by the United Kingdom and France, but if we go with what the United States leads, we will end up getting entangled in the Middle East war."
He emphasized, "The very act of deploying does not guarantee the safety of our service members, and if the deployment is led by the United States, our oil tankers or merchant ships could become targets of Iranian attacks, which is quite dangerous."
However, he said, "Since the government has not decided yet, bickering within the party is not desirable in terms of the national interest," adding, "If a decision is made, public consensus will be important, and we must also watch the trend in public opinion."
Song Young-gil of the same party predicted that it would not be easy for a troop dispatch motion to pass the National Assembly.
Appearing on YTN's "Jang Sung-chul's News Myeongdang" that day, Song said, "Not only does Article 5 of our Constitution stipulate opposition to a war of aggression, there is also no UN resolution, and even NATO member countries and Japan are backing away."
He added, "Because the United States and we are allies, there is a duality that we should hear them out, so we must first persuade the United States, but it will not be easy for the motion for troop dispatch to pass the National Assembly, and public sentiment will likely be the same."
The ruling party leadership is, for now, refraining from public comments on the deployment issue.
Kim Min-seok, the Democratic Party leader, is said to have advanced a cautious stance at a lunch with three-term lawmakers on the 8th, saying about the deployment issue that "it is still early for the National Assembly to respond," while adding that "we must keep a close eye on the situation."