South Korea rules out military involvement in Middle East conflict amid growing US pressure

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has slumped to a new low of 37 per cent as he faces mounting US pressure over the Iran conflict, with Trump publicly taunting Seoul for refusing to help defend the Strait of Hormuz while American troops remain stationed on the Korean Peninsula. Lee declared flatly at a Blue House press conference that no troops or military assets would be sent to participate in the war, while leaving the door open to a limited expansion of South Korea's existing anti-piracy naval mission off Somalia.

Trump last month recalled asking Lee to 'give us a little hand' with Iran — and Lee said 'No, thanks.'

Seoul is considering expanding its Cheonghae destroyer's operational scope toward the Red Sea, but only to protect South Korean oil tankers, not to support US war operations.

A South Korean fact-finding team recently returned from the UAE to assess conditions, with options on the table including P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft and a Navy bomb-disposal team.