South Korea Plans to Push Its Navy Unit Toward Hormuz After Trump Pressure

South Korea plans to widen the patrol area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit to waters near the port of Duqm in Oman, closer to the strait of Hormuz, the defense ministry said, according to The Guardian. The step follows pressure from President Donald Trump, who has criticized Seoul for what he called too little support for the war in Iran.

The government will submit a motion to parliament, which also needs sign-off from President Lee Jae Myung and the cabinet. The motion would also extend the unit's Middle East deployment, which is due to expire at the end of 2026, a ministry spokesperson said, confirming a report by the Yonhap news agency.

The key numbers behind the plan

• 650km (403 miles): the distance between Duqm and the strait of Hormuz, according to The Guardian. The new area of operation would reach waters near the Omani port.
• 2009: the year the unit was first stationed in the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial shipping.
• About 300: service members now in the unit, according to broadcaster YTN. It also has a 4,400-ton-class destroyer, a maritime operations helicopter and up to three rigid-hull inflatable boats.
• 75: additional personnel the unit would gain, the Korea Herald reported. Seoul would also send a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft.
• 70%: the share of South Korea's oil supplies that came from the Middle East in 2025, according to the industry ministry. Most of it passed through the strait of Hormuz.

What the ministry says the mission will and will not do

A defense ministry official, speaking anonymously to reporters, said the stronger mission is meant to protect South Korean citizens and economic interests. He described it as strictly non-combat and said the unit would operate independently of allied forces.

The official said operations would stay in the open waters south of Oman. The patrol aircraft would be barred from targeting or monitoring Iranian territory, Iranian territorial waters or the interior of the strait during its missions.

Why it matters for South Korea's energy supply and alliance

South Korea depends heavily on imported oil, and the industry ministry's figures show how much of it comes from the Middle East by way of Hormuz. Any threat to shipping there bears directly on the country's fuel supply, which the ministry official cited as a reason for the move.

The decision also touches the country's relationship with Washington. Trump has accused Seoul of not doing enough on Iran and scaled back large joint military drills between the two countries' forces this summer, a move that unsettled the U.S. ally, The Guardian reported. Lee said on Sept. 18 that he would not send military assets to the Middle East in a way that could pull South Korea into conflict, but that Seoul was considering a larger role in protecting navigation in the region.

The announcement came the same day Iran's Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents after trying to use unauthorized routes through the strait. According to the Guard, one tanker hit a mine while crossing a passage south of the waterway. Another supertanker caught fire as it left the route in the eastern part of the strait, and a tugboat that approached to help put out that fire also burned. The reports were not independently verified in The Guardian's account.

What happens next

The motion must go to parliament and be approved by Lee and the cabinet before the expanded mission can proceed. The ministry did not say when a vote might take place. The existing Middle East deployment is scheduled to expire at the end of 2026 unless the extension is approved.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian