“President Lee declines troop deployment” NYT report···the presidential office: “It is not a refusal, and we are continuing to review ways to contribute”
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President Lee Jae Myung holds his seventh press conference since taking office at the State Guest House of the presidential office on the 18th. Presidential Office Photo Press Corps
On the 19th, the presidential office clarified, regarding foreign media reports that President Lee Jae Myung had refused a request by U.S. President Donald Trump to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz, stating, “It is not a refusal.”
In a press notice that day, the presidential office stated, “At the press conference on the 18th, President Lee did not refuse a Middle East-related request for cooperation concerning South Korea from President Trump.”
The New York Times (NYT) published an article that day titled ‘South Korean leader refuses President Trump, says he will not send troops to Iran’. NYT noted that at a press conference the previous day, President Lee stated he would not send troops to Iran, and characterized this as rejecting Trump (Rejecting Trump).
In response, the presidential office said, “The government has been reviewing practical ways to contribute to protecting the people and safeguarding the national interest, in close communication with the international community, including the United States,” and added, “The government will continue to review specific ways to contribute under the principled position of not engaging in war·combat.”
At a press conference held the previous day at the State Guest House of the presidential office, regarding the issue of deploying troops to the Strait of Hormuz, President Lee reaffirmed the principle of non-involvement·non-intervention in war, saying, “There will be no deployment in a form that participates in or intervenes in war.”
President Lee said, “However, it is also clear that, as other countries do, we must at least undertake minimal activities to protect our merchant vessels and oil transport routes, or the lives and safety of our people.”
