Gyeonggi civic groups demand end to Hormuz deployment review and Freedom Edge drills

Three Gyeonggi civic groups have called on the government to stop the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Freedom Edge military exercise and withdraw its review of deploying forces to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Gyeonggi Alliance for Independent Reunification and Peace, Gyeonggi People’s Action and the Gyeonggi Association of Civic Organizations made the demand at a joint news conference on the seventh at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council. They criticized what they described as a diplomatic policy being drawn into U.S. military strategy.

The groups said the United States was trying to maintain and strengthen its military posture toward China by mobilizing allied forces, even as the war in Iran placed pressure on U.S. military resources. They argued that the Lee Jae-myung government’s participation in U.S. exercises that could provoke China threatened peace and sovereignty on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

“

The United States is trying to maintain and strengthen its military posture toward China by mobilizing allied military forces, even as the war in Iran places pressure on U.S. military resources.

They expressed particular concern about the government’s review of options to deploy minesweepers, mine-hunting vessels and explosive ordnance disposal teams to protect ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and contribute to international maritime security. Kim Jin-hee, standing representative of Gyeonggi People’s Action and head of the Gyeonggi branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, “The government should prioritize the lives of its people and peace on the Korean Peninsula rather than unconditionally following the U.S. military strategy.”

The groups also criticized the 2026 Freedom Edge multidomain exercise, which began that day. They pointed to its continuation even as the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise had been scaled back and the Ssangyong exercise canceled, arguing that Freedom Edge could provide a pretext for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to re-enter the Korean Peninsula and intensify bloc confrontation in Northeast Asia. Their five demands included opposing the deployment of South Korean troops to U.S. wars, immediately ending Freedom Edge, halting the transformation of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan relationship into a military alliance, opposing the Korean Peninsula’s use as a forward base against China, and shifting to independent peace diplomacy.

“

The government should prioritize the lives of its people and peace on the Korean Peninsula rather than unconditionally following the U.S. military strategy.