President Lee Jae-myung said on the 22nd (local time), “A peace regime on the Korean Peninsula is a task that not only North and South Korea, but also related countries such as the United States and China have sympathized with and discussed its necessity for a long time.” President Lee said this in a keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly held in New York, USA, saying, “Above all, the most core task is to end the long-standing war on the Korean Peninsula and establish a peace system.” He continued, "Fortunately, the possibility of change (in dialogue with North Korea) has become difficult due to the recent decision of U.S. President Donald Trump," and added, "South Korea will lay the foundation for the long-stalled North Korea-US dialogue to resume as soon as possible and develop into dialogue between the parties to end the war on the Korean Peninsula and transform a peace system."
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It was discovered that delegations from the United States and Iran met at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 22nd (local time) when the United Nations General Assembly was held. In response to reporters' questions during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "(The meeting with Iran) went very well" and "It was a meeting that lasted for three hours." On the U.S. side, President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his eldest son-in-law Jared Kushner came forward. Iran's representative was Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iran's state-run IRIB broadcaster reported.
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International oil prices fell below $100 per barrel on the 22nd (local time) amid expectations of a recovery in crude oil supply in the Middle East. On this day, on the London ICE Futures Exchange, the November Brent crude oil contract ended trading at $99.25 per barrel, down 1.1% from the previous trading session. This is the first time since the 8th ($97.92) that the price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell below $100.
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Among major domestic conglomerates since the 2000s, one out of three has been found to have maintained a surplus for more than five years. On the 23rd, the Corporate Data Research Institute's CEO Score surveyed the individual financial statements of 106 quarters from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of this year for 351 companies that submitted semi-annual reports among the top 500 companies in domestic sales. As a result, 117 companies recorded operating surpluses for more than 5 consecutive years (20 quarters) during this period, accounting for 33.3% of the total. There were 71 (20.2%) companies that had maintained a surplus for more than 10 years (40 quarters). There were 11 companies (3.1%) with more than 25 years (100 quarters).
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Despite the decrease in the number of reports of school violence, the number of meetings of the School Violence Response Committee (School Violence Committee) continued to increase, with the number of deliberations reaching nearly 30,000 last year. According to data submitted by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Hee-jeong, chairman of the National Assembly's Education Committee, from the Ministry of Education on the 23rd, the number of cases reviewed by the school violence committee increased sharply by 87.9% over the past five years, from 15,653 cases in the 2021 school year to 29,405 cases last year. By year, there are 15,653 cases in 2021, 21,565 cases in 2022, 23,579 cases in 2023, 27,835 cases in 2024, and 29,405 cases in 2025.
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The underweight rate among Korean women was found to be 3.9 times that of men. By region, the underweight rate was highest among women living in Seoul, with one in 12 women in Seoul being underweight. According to data received from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency by Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, on the 23rd, the underweight rate among women was 6.2% last year, far exceeding the rate of 1.6% among men. The underweight rate among all adults is around 4.2%.
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With the market closely watching the actions of the United States and Iran facing each other at the United Nations General Assembly, the three major New York stock indexes ended at mixed prices. On the 22nd (local time), the NASDAQ composite index centered on technology stocks closed at 27,244.28, up 122.18 points (0.45%) from the previous day, breaking an all-time high based on the closing price. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index was almost unchanged at 7,764.64, down 0.06 points (0.0%) from the previous day, and the closing price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 51,863.69, down 185.14 points (0.36%).
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Consumer sentiment in September rebounded for the first time in a month. This can be interpreted as a result of increased expectations for improvement in income conditions thanks to the favorable real economy trend while the domestic stock market fluctuations have decreased. According to the results of the 'Consumer Trend Survey' announced by the Bank of Korea on the 23rd, the Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI) in September was 106.6, up 2.1 points (p) from the previous month (104.5). The index rose for three months from May due to strong semiconductor exports, then changed direction to a 2.3 point decline in August, before rebounding again this month.
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It is pointed out that the unreasonable structure in which the more people try to make a living by working, the more their share of the income stagnates and the welfare benefits are drastically reduced, is breaking the will of the poorest to become independent. A regressive phenomenon has been confirmed in which extremely poor households with weak working abilities are deprived of living benefits equivalent to the income they earn through work due to inadequate deduction benefits, property conversion standards, and a full reduction in basic pension. According to the 'Status of households receiving basic livelihood security livelihood benefits by income section' compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 23rd, the lowest income households with monthly earned income of less than 500,000 won earned an average of 227,769 won per month, but the reduction in living benefits amounted to 214,249 won. The scale of the reduction in living allowance compared to earned income is close to 94.1%.
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On Wednesday, the 23rd, the autumn equinox, when day and night are of equal length, the entire country will be mostly clear. However, there will be clouds on the east coast and mountainous areas of Gangwon, the east coast of Gyeongsang Province, and Jeju Island, and less than 5 mm of rain will fall on the 5 islands in the West Sea in the morning. Daytime temperatures across the country were forecast to be 24 to 30 degrees.
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