Phase One Agreement on Israel-Hamas Peace Framework.

• Donald Trump (U.S. President) posted on Truth Social: “All hostages will be released soon, and Israel will withdraw its forces to the agreed-upon borderlines.”
• Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) said, “I extend my gratitude to Trump.” Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority President) stated, “I hope this leads to a political solution that ends Israel’s occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state.”

The Road to Peace Remains Long.

• Israeli airstrikes continue in northern Gaza.
• Israel maintains that a full withdrawal is impossible, while Hamas has set a condition: transferring its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.
• Israel still refuses to recognize the Palestinian Authority.

Today’s Nobel Peace Prize Announcement.

• Trump expressed anticipation, stating, “No one in history has resolved eight wars in nine months.” He also emphasized his rationale: “The worst president was ‘sleepy’ Biden, but Obama wasn’t a good president either.”
• On betting site Polymarket, Trump’s odds dropped from 6% to 4%. The top candidate is Sudan’s activist group Sudan Emergency Response Rooms at 33%, followed by Doctors Without Borders (10%) and the International Criminal Court (7%).
• Separate from the Israel-Hamas peace negotiations, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was already decided on the 6th.
• Related Link.
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South Korean Activist Detained While Attempting to Deliver Aid to Gaza.

• Kim Ah-hyun (activist) and others aboard an 11-vessel aid flotilla were seized by Israeli forces.
• The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced, “They will be deported shortly.”
• Related Link.

What Matters Now.

Will the Bull Market Continue?

• The U.S. and Japanese stock markets hit record highs during the Chuseok holiday.
• The KOSPI index also surpassed 3,500 on October 2, showing strong momentum. Prospects for major stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain positive.
• However, U.S. markets dipped slightly yesterday.

Can a 69-Day, 70-Filbuster Standoff Happen?

• The Democratic Party proposed prioritizing 70 livelihood bills, while the People Power Party is considering countering every bill with a filibuster. If each bill takes one day, 70 days would derail the National Assembly audit.
• Jang Dong-hyeok (People Power Party Leader) is sharpening his stance, stating, “We’ve passed bills too easily until now.”
• Related Link.

Will Sanae Takaichi Visit Yasukuni Shrine?

• It is a shrine that enshrines war criminals from Japan’s invasion wars as deities.
• Sanae Takaichi (President of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party) has visited Yasukuni multiple times, including in April this year.
• Will she go after being elected prime minister? She may appease her hardline base or prioritize national interest and delay it. Most observers predict she won’t attend next week’s ritual.
• Takaichi has insisted that ministers—not deputy ministers—should attend the “Takeshima Day” event.
• Cho Seong-ryeol (Professor at Kyungnam University) forecasted, “Diplomacy with Japan has become extremely challenging.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Why Is Lee Jae-myung Stumbling Over Chung Cheong-rae?

• It’s the early days of the administration, yet the ruling party leader is overshadowing the president. Every presidential remark sparks a strong legislative push.
• Yoon Tae-gon (political columnist) noted, “The president’s rhetoric is starting to mirror the party leader’s,” adding, “The president pressures businesses and bureaucrats while the ruling party can’t say a word.”
• A presidential office insider reportedly said, “We understand the concerns, but from the party’s perspective, ending rebellion and pushing the three major reforms are priorities—so we can’t help it until year-end.”
• Yoon Tae-gon warned, “After quashing rebellion, the next target will be watermelons,” implying, “If the ruling party’s momentum isn’t corrected now, they’ll be powerless next year.”
• Related Link.

“Why Did the Party Make Such a Decision?”.

• It’s a question Lee Jae-myung frequently asks Woo Sang-ho (Presidential Office Chief of Political Affairs).
• Woo explained, “Since the president doesn’t interfere with the party, he wants to understand the background,” but also vented, “Sometimes there’s a mismatch in speed or temperature between the Presidential Office and the ruling party.”
• He added, “We might need a way to keep things quieter.”
• Related Link.

Chung Cheong-rae Keeps His Promises.

• Lee Joon-hee (Korea Daily advisor) strongly criticized, “Chung Cheong-rae is engaging in political self-harm.”
• Though Lee Jae-myung ordered him to moderate the pace of reform, Chung set the stage by declaring, “I kept my promise to dismantle the prosecution before Chuseok.”
• Kim Byung-ki (Democratic Party floor leader) brought a special prosecution bill compromise reflecting the president’s intent, only to face Chung’s fury and revert to the original proposal—a telling moment.
• The president seeks centrism and unity, yet Chung repeatedly disrupts the game. This explains why the Korea Daily’s tone has cooled early on.
• Lee Joon-hee noted, “I’ve never seen such blatant disregard for the president this early in an administration.”
• Menggiujiusan (猛狗酒酸): A proverb meaning a fierce guard dog at a tavern scares away customers, leaving the wine sour and the business ruined.
• It’s Lee Joon-hee’s advice—and warning—to Chung, who insists, “I’ll handle the fighting myself.”
• Related Link.

“How to Gently Coax Them onto the Operating Table.”.

• Kang Hoon-sik (Chief of Staff to the President) said this.
• “Reform, in the president’s view, should be like this: even those who feel uneasy are gently coaxed onto the operating table, anesthetized, and wake up thinking, ‘Oh, I guess they opened my abdomen’ or ‘They removed a tumor.’”
• This could be a critique reflecting the president’s intentions.
• Related Link.

Are the “Kai-ddal” Really Defecting?

• This could simply be Chosun Ilbo’s wishful thinking.
• Chung Cheong-rae TV’s YouTube subscriber count dropped from 706,000 to 702,000.
• Comment sentiment has shifted, too: “Lee Jae-myung and Choo Mi-ae’s hardliners are overshadowing the president,” or “The ruling party isn’t cooperating with the government—it’s obstructing it,” with such vitriol flooding the section.
• Before the Lee Jae-myung administration, the Democratic Party’s approval rating was 46%; by late September, it had fallen to 38%.
• Related Link.

Deep Dive.

Why China Is Tightening Its Grip on Rare Earths.

• Rare earths used in advanced semiconductors and AI development now require Commerce Ministry approval.
• Observers suggest this is a move to wield them as bargaining chips in a tariff war.
• China controls 70% of global rare earth mining and 90% of processing capabilities.

EU Steel Tariffs Hit 50%.

• South Korea’s steel industry faces a triple crisis. Until last year, Korea exported 3.8 million tons of steel to the EU tariff-free.
• The EU has decided to reduce the tariff-free quota. It remains unclear how much quota Korea will receive.
• With Chinese dumping, U.S. tariff bombs, and the EU raising trade barriers, the shock is inevitable.

OpenAI’s Circular Deals Spark Bubble Warnings.

• OpenAI has agreed to purchase tens of billions of dollars worth of AMD chips. AMD will grant OpenAI the right to acquire a 10% stake, with shares priced at $0.01 instead of the current $236.
• The Nvidia-OpenAI deal follows a similar pattern: if Nvidia invests up to $100 billion in OpenAI, the company will lease Nvidia chips with the funds.
• Bloomberg warned, “These complex, interconnected deals are artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.”
• OpenAI’s revenue is $4.3 billion, but its operating loss reaches $7.8 billion.
• Kristalina Georgieva (IMF Managing Director) cautioned, “It’s heading toward dot-com bubble levels from 25 years ago.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Krasznahorkai László Wins Nobel Prize in Literature.

• Hungarian author known for apocalyptic anxiety and existential themes. Wrote works including ‘Satantango’ and ‘The Melancholy of Resistance.’
• The Swedish Academy praised his “intense and visionary oeuvre, which, in the face of apocalyptic fears, reaffirms the power of art.”
• Related Link.

Another Take.

A Chuseok Holiday Controversy Over a ‘Fridge’ Show.

• It’s a minor but sticky issue. While government computer systems remained down from a fire, the presidential couple appeared on “Please Take Care of My Fridge.”
• The president wasn’t neglecting duties—he could attend a pre-scheduled program.
• Joo Jin-woo (People Power Party lawmaker) demanded, “Disclose the filming date,” raising suspicions of “lost 48 hours,” while Kang Yu-jeong (presidential spokesperson) countered, “We’ll take legal action for spreading falsehoods,” escalating into mutual lawsuits.
• According to the presidential office, filming occurred on September 28. Joo claimed, “They concealed the timing and falsely labeled legitimate criticism as disinformation.” He has also filed defamation charges against Kang and others.
• “Lost 48 hours” alludes to Park Geun-hye’s “lost 7 hours” during the Sewol ferry disaster.
• Circumstantial evidence suggests Lee Jae-myung (president) returned on the 26th, worked on the 27th, and filmed on the 28th.
• The presidential office explained, “The appearance was promised to promote K-food, and canceling would have harmed the program.”
• The Korea JoongAng Daily editorial called it “a petty political spat.” It noted, “The government system crash was a major national incident, but linking it to the Sewol disaster isn’t dignified criticism.”
• Related Link.

“If They Had Responded Honestly and Well.”.

• Park Ji-won (Democratic Party lawmaker) made this remark regarding the “Please Take Care of My Fridge” controversy.
• “Nevertheless, public sentiment seems to be that the opposition’s offensive has gone too far,” he said.
• Related Link.

Park Soo-hyun on Holiday Public Sentiment.

• Park Soo-hyun (Democratic Party spokesperson) summed it up for reporters:
• First, boldly pursue the settlement of sedition and reform.
• Second, quietly pursue the settlement of sedition and reform.
• Jeong Hyeok (Kyunghyang Shinmun columnist) analyzed, “The Democratic Party’s approach was unnecessarily harsh or noisy, and some citizens felt fatigued by it.”
• “Isn’t there a novel titled ‘The Deep River Flows Far’? What the Democratic Party needs now is not the turbulence of rapids but the grandeur and depth of the Yangtze, pushing forward its current.”
• Related Link.

Can Punitive Damages Be Imposed on YouTube Channels?

• One presidential remark changed the entire board. The Democratic Party had originally considered imposing punitive damages for media distortion. But when Lee Jae-myung argued that YouTube should also be regulated, the platform was placed under scrutiny.
• However, regulating YouTube risks accusations of infringing on free expression, and targeting the platform could mean clashing with the U.S. government.
• Yoon Seok-min (Seoul National University professor) assessed, “Whether through revising the Press Arbitration Act or the Telecommunications Business Act, the Special Committee on Media Reform’s goal of reforming the press via punitive damages for fake news now faces a deadlock.” He criticized it as “the inevitable outcome of the wrong first step—political power taking the lead to ‘correct’ the media.”
• Related Link.

32% of Korea Military Academy Cadets Abandon Military Careers.

• Of the 330 cadets in the 81st class of the Korea Military Academy, 223 were commissioned—a 68% commission rate. 26 passed but did not enroll, and 81 were expelled.
• The commission rates for the Air Force Academy and Naval Academy were 79% and 74%, respectively. The Air Force ROTC stood at 56%.
• Lee Il-woo (Secretary-General of the Self-Reliant Defense Forum) stated, “Junior officers’ salaries must be doubled or tripled, and military officers should receive preferential treatment when joining private companies—future prospects must be guaranteed.”
• Related Link.

The Fix.

“Use Negative-Pressure Neonatal Rooms to Prevent Infection.”.

• Postpartum care centers’ fear-based marketing has reached absurd levels.
• The rooms are not negative-pressure wards but merely have slightly enhanced ventilation systems—yet they add 1.5 million won for two weeks. Postpartum care costs, which averaged 2.74 million won in 2020, have risen to 3.66 million won.
• Some premium rooms now exceed 40 million won.
• Certain centers faced corrective measures after including clauses that demanded 30% of the contract amount as penalties for negative online reviews.
• Only 21 public postpartum care centers exist. Kyunghyang Shinmun editorialized, “Starting with depopulating regions, the state must restructure and expand its role in comprehensive postpartum care support.”
• Related Link.

Raise Your Hand If You’re Poor.

• “Now, raise your hand if your parents only attended elementary school.”
• A scene from the drama ‘Eun-joong and Sang-yeon.’ Back then, students were made to raise their hands if they owned a TV, refrigerator, or washing machine under the guise of a family environment survey.
• Though not to that extent, the stigma of welfare application still exists. There have even been calls to design child meal cards to be less conspicuous.
• Lee Young-tae (Korea Ilbo columnist) noted, “Public officials’ ‘sensitivity to stigma’ must change,” adding, “Can the country really act like a school from that era, asking the poor to raise their hands?”
• Related Link.

3,203 Deaths of Unrecognized Migrant Workers.

• According to a National Human Rights Commission investigation, 3,340 migrant workers died as of 2022. Yet only 137 deaths were recognized as industrial accidents.
• Kim Seung-seop (Seoul National University professor) pointed out, “Those covered in the report were treated as undocumented workers while alive, as deaths of unknown causes when nearing death, and as unclaimed bodies after death. Korean society has continued its daily life without mourning them.”
• Migrant workers under the Employment Permit System must work at a single workplace for three years. The system makes it difficult to change workplaces, inevitably reducing them to dependent relationships enduring unfair treatment.
• Lee Seok-tae (former Constitutional Court justice) emphasized, “The constitutional philosophy of Article 10—that human dignity is inherent in being human—relates to Kant’s philosophy: ‘Always act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.’” A critique calling it “a task that strikes the conscience of our society.”
• Related Link.

Returning Youth Revive Kelp Island.

• Wolmido’s Yonghyang Village, Wando County. Fourteen young people who left the island around 2010 returned and started families. There are now 32 returning-fishery families—41% of the village’s 77 residents.
• 58% of South Korea’s kelp comes from Wolmido. This is where the kelp for Nongshim’s “Neoguiri” instant noodles is sourced. The saying goes that as long as there’s a scrap of land, kelp is spread out to dry.
• Lee Jae-min (Wolmido resident) said, “Having kelp made us feel like we could do anything.” The youth pooled resources to upgrade farming scales. Each household specializes in different seaweeds to maximize efficiency.
• The 200+ fishing households on Wolmido generated 17.6 billion won in sales. Jeong In-ho (Wando County Population and Employment Policy Director) remarked, “Ultimately, jobs and income sources are key.”
• Related Link.

Autumn Foliage Arrives One to Two Weeks Late.

• Foliage season begins when 20% of a mountain is colored; Seoraksan’s started on October 2. The 30-year average was September 28—four days later.
• Peak foliage is marked when 80% is colored. It takes 3–4 weeks from onset to peak. According to the Korea Forest Service, Seoraksan will reach peak foliage on October 25. Hallasan’s peak has been pushed to November 4.
• Delayed foliage is also less vibrant. Reduced anthocyanin production fails to yield proper red hues.

No Typhoons This Year.

• First time in 16 years.
• The 30-year average was 1.0 in July, 1.2 in August, 0.8 in September, and 0.1 in October.
• This year, the North Pacific high pressure system remained firmly in place throughout summer, preventing any typhoons from making landfall.

ICYMI.

Gold Hits $4,000 Mark.

• With strong preference for safe assets, some forecasts suggest it could rise to $5,000 per ounce.
• The effect of U.S. rate cuts is significant, but concerns about price corrections also emerge. In 2022, there was an experience of a near-20% plunge from peak levels.
• Related Link.

Next Year’s Lunar New Year Holiday: Five Days.

• 82 days remain until year-end.
• Lunar New Year falls on Tuesday, February 17, with the holiday spanning February 14–18 when adjacent weekends are included.
• Christmas is on Thursday, and January 1 is also a Thursday—both are “bridge holidays.”
• There will be no such holiday stretches for a while. In 2044, Chuseok will fall the day after National Foundation Day, creating a holiday from October 1–6; taking Friday, October 7 as leave extends it to October 10.

Two Diplomatic Missions Relocated, $26.5M Spent on Hotels.

• When Yoon Suk-yeol (then-president) moved from the Blue House to the foreign minister’s residence, the foreign minister’s residence was relocated to the Samcheong-dong presidential chief of staff residence, then again to the Gyeongjeong-dong presidential security chief residence.
• Though the Samcheong-dong residence was designated for official events, no diplomatic event has ever been held there. The cost of renting hotels for events reached $26.5 million. Remodeling costs for the two residences were $15.1 million and $11.5 million respectively.
• Related Link.

79 Instant Noodles per Person per Year.

• 4.1 billion instant noodles were sold in South Korea last year—8th globally.
• Per capita consumption was 79 packs, ranking 2nd. Vietnam leads with 81 packs.
• Worldwide, 123 billion packs were sold last year. South Korea’s instant noodle exports increased by 25% through September this year compared to the same period last year.

Worth Reading.

Will AI Save Us All?

• Will AI bring growth, and will more growth create more opportunities, eliminating hate and discrimination? Son Je-min (Social Editor, Kyunghyang Shinmun) pointed out, “That seems unlikely.”
• High growth is neither achievable nor desirable. Data centers and semiconductor plants consume more water and electricity. They are likely to bring greater disasters for future generations.
• Essential services—food, housing, education, healthcare, and care—do not require growth as a prerequisite. When politicians emphasize growth and incite endless competition, society fragments and discontent explodes.
• Son Je-min noted, “To stop the far-right’s advance, we must abandon the illusion of growth.”
• Related Link.

Why We Say “Employers.”.

• The Philadelphia Declaration begins with these words: “Labor is not a commodity.”
• Kim Ji-hye (Professor, Gangneung-Wonju National University) noted, “The dehumanizing nature of the term ‘employer’ reflects and shapes our perspective on labor.”
• “Language is not just a symbol—it carries a worldview.”

The Democratic Party’s Populist Trap.

• Populism delays genuinely necessary structural reforms and fixates on short-term, populist policies.
• Jang Deok-jin (Professor, Seoul National University) warned, “Populism is a phenomenon that uses democracy to harm democracy.”
• “Populism turns politics into a dangerous spectacle for venting anger, rather than a forum for designing a national vision for the next century.”
• Jang also noted, “The argument that party politics must be restored and parliamentary elements strengthened—especially when the ruling party is recklessly outpacing the president—has lost persuasive power.”

The Democratic Party’s Pattern of Failure.

• The standard of failure is whether they can extend their hold on power. While not comparable to the twice-impeached People Power Party, Kim Soon-deok (columnist, Dong-A Ilbo) identifies three causes of the Democratic Party’s failures.
• First, the besieged fortress syndrome: even in power, a victim mentality of being under attack leads to uncompromising rigidity.
• Second, the arrogance of progressivism: the belief that “we are right” narrows even the president’s room to maneuver.
• Third, intellectual stagnation: politics driven by a “nation-saving steel-formation” mentality leaves no space for dialogue or compromise.
• When the “Please Take Care of My Fridge” controversy was raging, Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae’s Facebook post—“Remember the December 3rd Emergency Martial Law! Never forget Roh Sang-woo’s notebook!”—was read as complaining about wasting time on trivial entertainment.
• Related Link.

A Judge in Robes, a Politician in Disguise.

• Cho Hee-dae (Chief Justice) made no mention of Yoon Suk-yeol’s emergency martial law declaration. Is silence political neutrality? Many disagree.
• Linked to Judge Ji Gwi-yeon’s (Seoul Central District Court) decision to release Yoon Suk-yeol, the Chief Justice’s silence reveals a strong political bias. Rushing to finalize the ruling on Lee Jae-myung’s Supreme Court appeal a month before the election can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to influence the presidential race.
• Han In-seop (Seoul National University professor) assessed, “Cho Hee-dae has transcended being a political judge—he has become a ‘politician in judicial robes.’”
• “The Chief Justice should not be a ‘monarch’ isolated in a judicial fortress, but must actively communicate with the sovereign people. (Omitted) The more the judiciary tries to sanctify itself, the farther it drifts from the public. The current judicial crisis does not come from outside. It stems from internal arrogance and insularity that fail to persuade the people. To restore eroded judicial trust, Cho Hee-dae must make a decisive choice about his own position.”
• Related Link.

Who Checks the Checkers, and How?

• Im Jae-sung (Haemaru Law Firm) assessed, “The Democratic Party’s judicial reform agenda is woefully inadequate.”
• There are roughly five points: first, increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; second, improving the nomination process for justices; third, reforming the judge evaluation system; fourth, expanding the scope of lower court ruling disclosures; and fifth, introducing preliminary hearings for search and seizure warrants. The only novel proposal is increasing the number of justices.
• Im Jae-sung asks, “Does increasing the number of Supreme Court justices enable the checkers to be checked?”
• “Politics must propose, persuade, and finalize policies for a judiciary that—having grown from ‘tools of power’ into an ‘unchecked power’—does not sway with the Chief Justice’s ambitions, where judges do not fixate on promotions but rule by law and conscience, and where the institution earns public trust. I ask the Democratic Party: What is the ruling party’s judicial reform beyond expanding the Supreme Court bench?”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.