South Korean President Lee Jae-myung Rules Out Troop Deployment to Iran War on September 18, Resisting US Pressure Amid Public Opposition at Home

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ruled out on Friday September 18 any deployment of South Korean troops or military assets that would involve Seoul in the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, drawing a firm line around South Korea's role despite months of pressure from US President Donald Trump. Lee told reporters during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae that there will be no deployment that involves or intervenes in the war, stating clearly that South Korea has maintained the principle of not becoming directly involved in combat and will continue to do so. The statement is the clearest answer yet to Trump's repeated public claims that he personally asked Lee to give us a little hand with Iran and that Lee told him we'd rather not, with Trump publicly pressing the ally and saying Washington should remember countries unwilling to help. At home, public opinion has tilted against such a deployment, with polls showing broad opposition to sending South Korean troops or military assets to the strait, particularly among supporters of Lee's ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Lee acknowledged South Korea could not entirely stay on the sidelines when its own economic and security interests are at stake, noting that about 70 percent of South Korea's crude oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted by the war that began with a joint US-Israeli attack. Lee said South Korea is considering expanding the operational scope of a South Korean navy destroyer and its support ships currently stationed off the coast of Somalia for antipiracy operations, but emphasized the focus would be protecting South Korean oil tankers and other commercial vessels rather than combat involvement. Trump previously scaled back joint Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises in August, tying the decision to his own outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and using Seoul's refusal as justification.