South Korea weighs extending its naval mission to the Gulf of Oman

South Korea's government is considering extending the area of operations of its "Cheonghae" anti-piracy unit from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman, the waterway that leads to the Strait of Hormuz. The review comes as the Islamic Republic, by attacking ships and threatening navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, has endangered the security of one of the world's most important energy routes.

The Korean daily Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on Thursday, 15 October 2026, that the government of President Lee Jae-myung intends to submit a proposal to parliament to extend the unit's mission and may also send a frigate to the region to reinforce reconnaissance operations. The Cheonghae unit's current mission ends on 31 December 2026.

South Korea's defence ministry said on Friday, 16 October, that it has not yet decided whether to submit an extension proposal to parliament and that the details of an expanded operation have not been settled. The ministry added that the security situation in the Gulf of Aden is deteriorating and that piracy has risen sharply compared with last year.

The Cheonghae unit and US pressure on Seoul

The Cheonghae unit has been deployed in the Gulf of Aden since 2009 and currently consists of a 4,400-tonne destroyer, a maritime operations helicopter, up to three speedboats and about 300 personnel. South Korea previously, in January 2020, after tensions rose in the Persian Gulf, temporarily extended the unit's area of activity to the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, without joining the US-led maritime coalition.

US President Donald Trump has in recent months pressed Seoul for more support in the war with the Islamic Republic and criticised what he called South Korea's insufficient backing. Lee Jae-myung said on 18 September that his country would not use its military capabilities in the Middle East in a way that would draw it into the conflict, but that it is considering a greater role in securing shipping in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz under threat from the Islamic Republic

The move by South Korea, one of the largest importers of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf, comes amid repeated attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre had earlier reported 15 attacks on ships in eight days, and US Central Command has rejected the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' claims of control over the Strait of Hormuz.

A possible South Korean naval presence in the Gulf of Oman shows that the Islamic Republic's threat to shipping is drawing even distant countries into the region.