{"id":2202473,"date":"2023-10-12T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T23:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202473"},"modified":"2023-10-11T16:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T07:18:35","slug":"south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs <\/span>condemned<\/span><\/a> Hamas\u2019 attacks and expressed deep concerns over civilian casualties. The death toll from Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel has <\/span>surpassed 1,200, with nearly 3,000 injured<\/span><\/a>. At the same time, Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that <\/span>at least 900 people have been killed<\/span><\/a>, including 260 children and 230 women from Israel\u2019s military strikes. The ROK echoed its steadfast commitment to regional stability and adherence to international legal standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seoul also issued a <\/span>special travel advisory<\/span><\/a> on Israel, urging South Korean nationals to leave via a third country if possible. Moreover, concerns over potential disruptions in oil supply and market volatility have prompted Seoul to expand its crude oil reserves to insulate the nation from the economic aftershocks of the conflict. Citing the country\u2019s dependence on external trade, President Yoon Suk-yeol <\/span>instructed<\/span><\/a> government officials to remain alert and respond closely to uncertain external factors while doing everything they could to ensure the South Korean public\u2019s livelihood is not exacerbated.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s new defense minister, Shin Won-shik, <\/span>drew a parallel<\/span><\/a> between the threats faced by Israel and those that South Korea faces from North Korea. Claiming that South Korea faces a more significant threat from North Korea than Israel faces from Hamas, Shin mentioned Israel\u2019s conflict in a bid to justify his advocacy of scrapping the <\/span>Comprehensive Military Agreement<\/span><\/a> \u2014 the 2018 inter-Korean agreement that included the suspension of mutually hostile activities, demilitarization of the Joint Security Area, the removal of guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone, the joint recovery of Korean War remains and the shared use of the Han River estuary. Shin also described Hamas\u2019 deadly attack on Israel as a result of failed reconnaissance and noted Israel could have suffered fewer losses from Hamas\u2019 recent attack if it had conducted round-the-clock surveillance with unmanned aerial vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n

Amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas, South Korea is not expected to offer military assistance to Israel. The ROK\u2019s <\/span>Foreign Trade Act<\/span><\/a> forbids the government from exporting weapons to countries where they will be used for anything other than \u201cpeaceful purposes\u201d unless such arms shipments receive National Assembly approval. The same law has underscored Seoul\u2019s <\/span>reluctance to provide lethal aid<\/span><\/a> to Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia. With no request for military support from Israel and given its historical approach to international conflicts, South Korea\u2019s non-participation on the military front appears consistent with its diplomatic precedent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite <\/span>speculation<\/span><\/a> that Iran might have funded and helped plan Hamas\u2019 attack, which Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has <\/span>denied<\/span><\/a>, it is unlikely that South Korea will deploy naval assets to the Persian Gulf. Although the ROK <\/span>deployed a destroyer<\/span><\/a> near the Strait of Hormuz in 2021 after Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards seized a South Korean vessel, South Korea will likely not do so again without a direct threat to its citizens or assets. Seoul\u2019s diplomatic relations with Tehran reached a low point earlier this year when President Yoon <\/span>referred<\/span><\/a> to Iran as the UAE\u2019s \u201cenemy and its biggest threat.\u201d Despite Seoul\u2019s release of Iran\u2019s funds<\/a> that had been frozen in South Korea since 2019 following U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran, <\/span>Iranian news media reported<\/span><\/a> that Tehran plans to seek interest payments from South Korean banks on the previously frozen funds and that it may pursue legal procedures to ensure compensation for losses incurred due to exchange rate fluctuations during the freezing period.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the conflict inevitably impacting global energy markets, albeit with a limited effect<\/a>, South Korean industry minister Bang Moon-kyu <\/span>confirmed<\/span><\/a> the country\u2019s possession of an eight-month crude oil reserve as a cushion against immediate supply interruptions. However, given that the nation sources 67% of its crude oil and 37% of its gas deals from the Middle East, there\u2019s an acknowledged necessity to expand these reserves further.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Hamas\u2019 attacks and expressed deep concerns over civilian casualties. The death toll from Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel has surpassed 1,200, with nearly 3,000 injured. At the same time, Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that at least 900 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2202474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[26,28],"class_list":["post-2202473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-defense-security","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Hamas\u2019 attacks and expressed deep concerns over civilian casualties. The death toll from Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel has surpassed 1,200, with nearly 3,000 injured. At the same time, Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that at least 900 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"548\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"johnleenknews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"johnleenknews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b9766dba611638edc06a6e0b7078714d\"},\"headline\":\"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Defense & Security\",\"Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Briefings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\",\"name\":\"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png\",\"width\":1870,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"description\":\"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"width\":360,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"KOREA PRO\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/southkoreapro\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO","og_description":"In response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Hamas\u2019 attacks and expressed deep concerns over civilian casualties. The death toll from Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel has surpassed 1,200, with nearly 3,000 injured. At the same time, Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that at least 900 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/","og_site_name":"KOREA PRO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","article_published_time":"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png","width":1024,"height":548,"type":"image\/png"}],"author":"johnleenknews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@southkoreapro","twitter_site":"@southkoreapro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"KOREA PRO","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/"},"author":{"name":"johnleenknews","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b9766dba611638edc06a6e0b7078714d"},"headline":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution","datePublished":"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/"},"wordCount":659,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png","keywords":["Defense & Security","Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations"],"articleSection":["Briefings"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/","name":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution - KOREA PRO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png","datePublished":"2023-10-11T23:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-11T07:18:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-8.png","width":1870,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-responds-to-israel-hamas-conflict-with-caution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"South Korea responds to Israel-Hamas conflict with caution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","name":"KOREA PRO","description":"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization","name":"KOREA PRO","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","width":360,"height":50,"caption":"KOREA PRO"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/southkoreapro"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10407"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2202473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2202475,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202473\/revisions\/2202475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2202474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2202473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2202473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2202473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}