EARLY EDITION 18:00 One- and two-person households up drastically

Early Edition 18:00 It′s 6 in the evening on Friday, September 26th here in Korea. Live from Seoul, I′m Laah Hyun-kyung. And I′m Daniel Choy. Thanks for joining us. Title: Assembly Speaker adjourns Friday′s plenary session We begin at the National Assembly... where no bills have been passed for months. The ruling party was determined to pass dozens of pending bills at today′s plenary session, with or without the opposition. But the parliamentary speaker had something else in mind. Our Ji Myung-kil has the details. The 153 lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party who showed up to Friday′s plenary session did so expecting to pass some 90 pending bills, even though lawmakers of the main opposition party continued their boycott of all parliamentary proceedings. Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa was welcomed with applause upon entering the plenary floor,... but their cheers quickly changed to surprise. "As the governing party, we have a duty to pass legislative bills and government budgets in a proper manner with the cooperation of the opposition party. Although you are here, I ask for your forgiveness as I am adjourning today′s session until September 30th." At that session, Chung said more pending bills should be brought to the floor in addition to the 91 draft bills that have already been approved by related parliamentary committees. Chung also endorsed a proposal that next year′s government budget be voted on at the National Assembly no later than December 2nd, and called for setting a specific timetable for its annual audit of the government. Ruling party floor leader Lee Wan-koo had another surprise in store. He offered his resignation to take responsibility for not being able to normalize parliamentary affairs. But ruling party chairman Kim Moo-sung declined to accept it. "The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy plans to open a general meeting this weekend, where they will seek to reach a compromise on the upcoming parliamentary proceedings and decide whether they will attend next Tuesday′s plenary session. Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News." Title: President Park returns home from Canada and New York visits And that situation at the National Assembly is what President Park Geun-hye returned to this Friday, following a week-long overseas trip to Canada and the United States for this year′s UN General Assembly. Our Kwon Soa has a wrap-up of the high-profile meetings she attended. President Park Geun-hye began her high-profile visits to Canada and New York seeking understanding from the international community for her policies, and the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae says she was successful in doing that. In her debut at the UN General Assembly in New York, President Park sought international support for her North Korea and unification policies. She also highlighted the gravity of North Korea′s human rights abuses. At high-level meetings over global issues, including climate change, t