Expanded Cheonghae Unit Operation Zone Heads to National Assembly

At a State Council meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung at the presidential office on the 10th, the government approved a revised deployment motion to expand the Cheonghae unit's mission area to international waters south of Oman and dispatch additional forces. The Cheonghae unit is an overseas deployment force that has been conducting anti-piracy operations and ship escort missions in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia since 2009. The motion would broaden the unit's operational scope to waters south of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, and add to the existing destroyer one maritime patrol aircraft (P-8A Poseidon), an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, and unmanned mine-clearing equipment, while adding 'support for restoring freedom of navigation on international sea lanes' to its mission.

Minor progressive opposition parties including the Rebuilding Korea Party, along with some civic groups, criticized the mission area expansion as a 'backdoor deployment.' Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul told the National Assembly's Defense Committee the previous day, in response to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo, "I have clearly stated the principle of non-involvement and non-interference in the war." The Defense Ministry also emphasized that the enhanced mission is intended to protect citizens and economic interests, that the unit will absolutely not participate in or intervene in the war, and that it will operate under an independent command structure.

After the president's sign-off, the motion will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval. The same State Council meeting also approved a motion to extend the deployment of the Unit Akh, which provides military education and training support in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).