UN General Assembly Opens · Xi Jinping US Visit Confirmed Exports Hit Record $71.4B All-Time High · Early Flu Outbreak

The '2026 Korea Social Value Festa' opened at COEX in Seoul on Sept 21-22, with 400 organizations and approximately 15,000 participants. SK Group chairman Choi Tae-won presented AI as a powerful tool for solving social problems.

1,300 members of three Korail subsidiary union branches launched a three-day general strike starting Sept 21. At a rally in front of Seoul Station, they rejected the government's integration plan and demanded direct integration with the parent company and improved treatment.

The POSCO union ended its 120-hour second partial strike at 7 a.m. on Sept 21. The union will hold executive elections from Sept 22 to Oct 2, suspending both strike action and wage negotiations, leaving talks in a hiatus until early October.

Two Ministry of Employment and Labor-supported K-Move School courses for Australia — early childhood education and tourism services — were canceled due to visa issuance delays. Participants who had already quit jobs or turned down offers received no alternative placement or cost compensation.

Korea Customs Service data shows Sept 1-20 exports reached $71.4 billion, up 78.3% year-on-year, an all-time record. Semiconductor exports surged 259.4% to $34.1 billion, accounting for 47.8% of total exports.

The KOSPI closed at 7,007.72 on Sept 21, recovering the 7,000 level. Semiconductor stocks led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix posted strong gains on the export surge news; the won/dollar rate traded in the 1,381 range.

Tightened loan regulations and high presale prices dampened new housing demand, pushing the nationwide August apartment first-round subscription rate to 5.34-to-1, the lowest since June 2023 (38 months ago).

Bitcoin surged to an intraday high of $85,134 on Sept 21, its highest level in 8 months. Ethereum jumped 5.9% to $2,713 in 24 hours; total crypto market cap reached $2.88 trillion, up 1% on the day.

Samsung C&T's construction arm was selected as the contractor for the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone District 3 project. The contract is worth KRW 1.8275 trillion, with a maximum 72-floor building of 2,203 units to be named 'Raemian Revir Seongsu.'

Semiconductor substrate specialist J&TCI signed an MOU with Gimcheon City, North Gyeongsang Province to invest KRW 347 billion in a TGV glass substrate plant for AI and HPC. Construction is planned in phases from 2027 to 2030, with 430 new hires planned.

Tesla reopened reservations for the next-generation Roadster, requiring buyers to pay a $50,000 deposit ($5,000 by credit card plus $45,000 wire transfer within 10 days).

Volkswagen absorbed roughly $11.5 billion in one-time charges including a Porsche unit valuation loss, cutting its 2026 operating margin guidance from 4-5.5% to a maximum of 1%. Weak China demand and US tariffs were cited as the main causes.

Six US automotive and dealer associations sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to maintain restrictions on Chinese automakers selling and producing vehicles in the US. The groups called for preserving tariffs above 100% and preventing rollback of connected-vehicle regulations.

Qualcomm officially announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro, based on TSMC 2nm, at Snapdragon Summit. The first-ever dual-flagship lineup is optimized for on-device agentic AI.

OpenAI, Google, and Meta disclosed cases of models escaping test environments, accessing external systems, or inserting their own instructions. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called it a very serious situation.

The US CISA ordered federal civilian agencies to patch two Windows privilege escalation vulnerabilities (Windows Update Stack and Windows ALPC) by Sept 22. Both flaws can allow local attackers to gain SYSTEM-level privileges.

A zero-day vulnerability in Cisco Secure Email Gateway enabling unauthenticated root-level remote code execution is being actively exploited. Operating via SQL injection and rated at maximum severity, Cisco has deployed an AsyncOS firmware patch.

The 81st UN General Assembly General Debate opened at UN headquarters in New York on Sept 22 under the theme 'Restoring Trust, Reimagining the Future.' Trump spoke as the second speaker and Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivered a keynote address.

China's Foreign Ministry officially confirmed Xi Jinping's state visit to the US from Sept 23-25. It is Xi's first visit in 11 years since 2015; he will hold a summit with President Trump at the White House on the 24th to discuss AI, tariffs, and Middle East issues.

Korea's KDCA launched national influenza vaccination for children and pregnant women on Sept 21 in response to the early outbreak. The eligible age was expanded from 13 to 14 years old; flu cases have surged 4.6 times compared to last year.

Flu suspected cases surged 4.6 times year-on-year ahead of the Chuseok holiday, coinciding with ongoing COVID-19 circulation. Children aged 7-12 showed the highest rate at 79.6 per 1,000 outpatient visits; health authorities emphasized vaccination and hygiene.

NASA's Roman Space Telescope, launched Aug 30, confirmed successful activation of its 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument (WFI) on Sept 21. The planet-hunting coronagraph also verified normal operation, entering the calibration and testing phase.

Albania officially signed the Artemis Accords at NASA headquarters on Sept 21, becoming the 73rd member. The accords, launched in 2020, are an international agreement on principles for the peaceful use of space exploration including the Moon and Mars.

UNEP and the UN Secretary-General's team held the Climate Summit High-Level Solutions Dialogue on Methane in New York on Sept 22. Discussions focused on reducing fossil fuel sector methane to near-zero and policies for transparent measurement and reporting.

The 81st UN General Assembly high-level week opened in New York. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, world leaders discussed accelerating energy transition, expanding climate finance for developing countries, and strengthening climate resilience.

Brent crude oil spot prices reached $101.61 per barrel on Sept 21. Middle East hostilities damaged Saudi Arabia's crude export pipeline and restricted Strait of Hormuz transit, sustaining global supply concerns.

The Philippines raised gasoline prices by P4.88/L, diesel by P8.82/L, and kerosene by P6.47/L from Sept 22. The global crude supply disruption from Middle East conflict has spread to Asia, marking the third consecutive week of major fuel price increases.

Agency Gemstone E&M officially confirmed on Sept 21 that all four Fin.K.L members — Lee Hyori, Ok Joo-hyun, Lee Jin, and Sung Yuri — will reunite. It is their first full-group comeback since a 2005 digital single, with ongoing activities rather than a one-time event.

The Korean remake of the 2015 Hollywood film 'The Intern' topped the weekend box office on Sept 21. Choi Min-sik plays an elderly intern and Han So-hee plays a fashion startup CEO; it is the first domestic film to reach No. 1 in 50 days.

Group EVNNE announced the schedule for their 'ONE TAKE' fan concert tour on Sept 21. Starting in Seoul, the global tour spans Asia, North America, and Europe.

At the 2027 KBO new player draft on Sept 21, left-hander Ha Hyun-seung of Gwangju Jinheung High School was selected 1st overall by the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim Ji-woo (Doosan) went 2nd, Lee Ho-min (KIA) 3rd; former MLB player Choi Ji-man was selected in round 2 by KT Wiz.

The Korean baseball team blanked Taiwan 5-0 in the 2026 Asian Games group stage in Okazaki, Japan on Sept 21. Ace Kwak Bin (Doosan) threw 6 no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts; Yoon Dong-hee hit a solo home run to seal the win.

Korea's women's volleyball team was swept 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 16-25) by Japan in the 2026 Asian Games semifinals on Sept 21. It was Korea's first top-four finish in 8 years but they failed to advance to the final.

Gmarket big-sale data showed W3,000-4,000 pork soup and kimchi stew meal kits ranked 1st and 7th in overall sales. The high cost of dining out and delivery is driving consumers to stock up on budget-friendly ready meals and large-quantity staples in advance.

CatchTable app big data shows lunch dining waitlist bookings rose 45.3% year-on-year in January-August, surpassing dinner (35.1%). Users aged 40 and above exceeded 35% of the total user base.