An official at the HMM Ocean Services situation room in Busan's Jung District talks with crew members after an explosion and fire caused damage to a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, Tuesday. Yonhap

Two months into the Iran war, an explosion and fire on board a Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz — the cause of which Seoul has said will take a few days to identify — has brought new stakes to the situation. As the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran brings prolonged volatility and heightened uncertainties, Seoul must move swiftly and transparently to assess the cause and prepare a response.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that the Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by Korean shipper HMM was attacked by Iran on the first day of "Project Freedom" — a U.S. effort to assist ships stranded in the strait by the Iranian blockade.

"By the way, their ship was shot at. They were not in the cavalcade of ships they had. They decided to go it alone, and their ship got hell knocked out of it yesterday, but they (Iran) didn't shoot the ships that were guarded by us," he said, during an event at the White House.

Seoul should swiftly close the gap through a careful and transparent assessment of the damage. Ship experts have said that it should not take long to find the cause of the explosion. In the meantime, the crew of the HMM Namu — one of 26 Korean ships moored in the strait since Feb. 28 — are safe and the ship will be moved to a nearby port in Dubai to evaluate the damage and make necessary repairs.

The Lee Jae Myung administration has tried to strike a balance between U.S. demands for direct military action from allies and diplomatic engagement with Iran. Seoul sent a high-level official to Tehran to try to reach a positive resolution that would allow Korean ships to exit the strait, without success. The government should demand clarification from Iran and prepare a response in case it turns out to be an attack, as Trump claims. Cheong Wa Dae has stressed, "The government holds the principle that safety in international maritime passage and free navigation meets all nations' common interest and should be protected by international law."

The moment asks for prudent but aggressive action to protect Korean interests. The war on Iran has brought numerous uncertainties and the longer it carries on, the heftier the bill Korea may be forced to pay.

Anticipating a quick resolution to the conflict may be naive, even as Trump put "Project Freedom" on hold Wednesday as the U.S. sought further discussion with Iran. The negotiations have been meandering and the goalposts shifting. As the talks drag on, Korea may not be able to maintain distance from the repeated U.S. calls to join military action in the strait. The pullout of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany and the increase of tariffs on European cars to 25 percent are two examples of the types of consequences Korea could face by not cooperating with Trump. There are some 28,500 U.S. forces stationed here, and Korea has already seen some defense missile systems pulled out to assist with the conflict in Iran. The U.S. is also talking about exercising trade tools using Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to conduct probes into what it has deemed "unfair practices," which could ultimately increase tariffs on Korean exports to the U.S.

Economically, all this will mean higher overall prices. During a recent conference at the Milken Institute, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the global economy could face a "much worse outcome" if the war continues into 2027 and oil prices hit $125 per barrel. Korea's import prices rose by 16 percent in March, and in April, consumer prices rose by 2.6 percent, the highest in 21 months. The deputy governor of the Bank of Korea said that it may well be time to "stop the interest rate cut and consider raising it," reflecting that high prices, high interest rates and an unfavorable Korean won-U.S. dollar rate exchange are affecting households and companies.

The pending task is to assess the cause of the accident and ensure the safe return of our ships. The government must also plan for a range of potential outcomes for the Middle East conflict, including further escalation. Safeguarding the physical safety of Koreans and strengthening the country's security and economic future is paramount.

Source: Korea Times News