President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Monday. (Pool photo via Yonhap)


South Korea has decided to transport oil shipments via the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where disruptions continue amid the Middle East war.
릴게임골드몽The decision came as President Lee Jae Myung stressed the need to balance vessel safety against oil supply needs during a Cabinet meeting, which doubled as an emergency economic review meeting, 10원야마토게임 held Monday at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.
"There are not many alternative routes left for rerouted imports,” Lee said. “If we block them outright just because they carry some risk, it could ser 오션파라다이스릴게임 iously affect the Republic of Korea’s crude supply and pose too great a threat to the country and its people,” Lee added, referring to South Korea by its official name.
Lee underscored that 바다이야기오리지널 “we should ensure the right balance," warning that banning every route carrying even a slight risk in pursuit of “100 percent safety” would make it difficult to secure crude supplies at home.
바다이야기슬롯 “Taking all that into account, we may be entering a situation in which we cannot help but accept some degree of risk.”
During the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo laid out the ministry’s plan to support crude oil shipments via Yanbu Port on the Red Sea coast.
According to Hwang, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources had shared with the Oceans Ministry information on crude oil tankers whose shipping contracts between cargo owners and shipping companies had been finalized by Friday. This enabled the Oceans Ministry to notify the relevant shippers that operations in the Red Sea could proceed.
The Red Sea route is an alternative corridor that uses Yanbu port on Saudi Arabia’s west coast instead of the Gulf, where shipping has become difficult due to Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Oceans Ministry and the Industry Ministry have been operating a real-time coordination system since April 1, according to Hwang.
“Going forward, as soon as the Industry Ministry shares additional information, including confirmation of transport contracts, we plan to notify shipping companies that navigation is possible,” Hwang said. “If refiners request vessel procurement, we also plan to support vessel matching between shipping companies and refiners.”



Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo briefs President Lee Jae Myung on the government’s emergency response to the Middle East war during a Cabinet meeting doubling as an emergency economic review meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Monday. (Photo Pool via Yonhap)


Hwang added that “the comprehensive situation room at the Oceans Ministry and the Cheonghae Unit will conduct safety monitoring, including real-time location tracking of vessels during operations, to ensure the safety of both crews and ships.”
South Korea operates the Cheonghae naval unit in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy missions, not military operations, using the 4,400-ton destroyer ROKS Dae Jo Yeong.
A further variable involves Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who threatened to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, however, assessed the likelihood of a Red Sea blockade on the scale of the Strait of Hormuz as low.
According to Hwang, a daily average of 39 vessels have passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since the outbreak of the Middle East war. Their flags include Panama, Hong Kong, China and Singapore, and the vessels range from crude carriers to general cargo ships.



President Lee Jae Myung (center) convenes a Cabinet meeting doubling as an emergency economic review meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Monday. (Photo Pool via Yonhap)



Lee calls wartime fake news ‘treason’

Also at the Cabinet meeting, Lee said that “a stronger response is needed against such fake news — false information that disrupts state affairs and affects the public.”
Lee called on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to take the lead in overseeing the matter, stressing that authorities should also identify and act before complaints are filed and proactively screen for such content.
“Even politicians in positions of responsibility are spreading fake news, or amplifying it despite having no reason not to know it is false,” Lee said.
Lee criticized the practice, saying, “Fake news that throws state affairs into confusion is, for example, a tactic used by the enemy in wartime. ... One of the most effective ways to disrupt the opposing side is to spread fake news and create confusion.”
“The Republic of Korea is, in any case, in a wartime situation due to the Middle East war, and deliberately spreading fake news that causes confusion in state affairs under such circumstances is no different from an act of treason,” he added, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Lee expresses 1st regret to North

Meanwhile, Lee expressed regret to North Korea over the drone incursion by South Korean nationals, denouncing it as “a civilian drone incident that should never have occurred under this government.”
“This incident must have caused considerable concern, especially among residents in border areas. I extend my deepest sympathies,” Lee said during the Cabinet meeting.
“Although it was not the government’s intention, I express regret to the North Korean side over the unnecessary military tensions caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of some individuals,” Lee added.
This marked Lee's first public expression of regret to Pyongyang over the matter.
Lee's apology came after a joint military-police task force on March 31 referred three individuals — a National Intelligence Service employee and two active-duty soldiers — to prosecutors on suspicion of aiding civilian suspects in launching drones into North Korea between September and January. However, the task force concluded that there was no evidence of organizational involvement.
"Relevant ministries should promptly take actionable steps that can be executed right away, alongside immediate institutional improvements, to ensure such cases do not recur,” Lee underscored.