South Korea plans to expand the operating area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy naval unit toward the Strait of Hormuz, adding maritime-patrol and explosive-ordnance capabilities as it seeks to protect commercial shipping, officials said on Thursday.

The proposed area would extend to international waters south of Oman near the port of Duqm, roughly 650 kilometres from the Strait, according to Reuters and South Korean news reports. The unit currently operates primarily in the Gulf of Aden. The plans include a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and additional personnel, alongside explosive-ordnance and unmanned mine-countermeasure assets.

The government must obtain parliamentary approval to extend the unit’s mandate. The proposal is therefore not the same as a completed deployment. South Korean officials have also drawn a boundary around the mission: the Defence Ministry said operations would be non-combat and restricted to open waters south of Oman. The patrol aircraft would not monitor Iranian territory, Iranian territorial waters or the interior of the Strait.

A maritime-security move with limits

The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for global energy shipments, making any change to naval patrols in the surrounding waters politically sensitive. Seoul has said it does not intend to intervene militarily in the conflict involving Iran.

That distinction is central to the plan. South Korea is proposing to move its existing anti-piracy mission closer to the Gulf, not to send the unit into the Strait or Iranian waters. Any future operation inside the waterway would require separate parliamentary approval, officials said.

The proposal will now face domestic scrutiny over its scope, risks to personnel and the line between protecting shipping and becoming involved in a wider conflict. Until lawmakers approve the revised mandate, the announced expansion remains a plan rather than an operational change.