국감 공방…•최저임금 인상•탈원전 정책 충돌<br /><br />We're now into day five of the National Assembly's audit of government ministries and agencies.<br />It was another round of disputes between rival parties... as they engaged in heated debates over the government's minimum wage hike and nuclear-free energy agenda.<br />Kim Minji has the latest. <br />Under scrutiny at the labor committee audit on Tuesday was the government's minimum wage hike.<br />The opposition called for a slowdown... and for different rates of increase depending on the industry,... saying that the 16 percent hike for this year -- and almost 11 percent for 2019 -- are weighing on small businesses and the self-employed.<br />"Until now, the government and the commission have been very lukewarm about requests from small businesses to apply different rates depending on the industry. What's your view on such a measure?"<br />"It's not something the commission can decide, and it's inappropriate to give my personal opinion. But if the government decides, we will work to achieve it."<br />The ruling party defended the government's policies,... saying the double-digit percentage increases are necessary to boost the incomes of those who make the least money.<br />It also claimed the hike is not the sole reason for the current sluggish job growth or the decline in income among the lower bracket.<br />"A clear diagnosis is needed to make the right prescription. The hardships of the self-employed and small business owners are not due to the minimum wage hike alone, but other factors such as rent, card transactions fees, changes in consumption trends and a decline in tourists."<br />At the industry committee,... the subject of debate was the government's initiative for nuclear-free energy.<br />The opposition said that going nuclear-free will erode the country's energy competitiveness -- and has even turned a profit-making company to a deficit,... referring to the state-run Korea Electro Power Corporation that was under inspection.<br />"The government is moving away from nuclear energy to other sources,... which makes it seem that KEPCO will post another loss next year. I believe around 620 million U.S. dollars?<br />"At this point, we can't predict the exact figure."<br />The ruling party criticized the opposition for blaming everything on the government's policies,... saying that's not the case.<br />It said the agenda is for the safety of the people and that it's the global trend.<br />"The opposition are blaming the nuclear-free drive for KEPCO's losses and the decline in the operation rate of nuclear plants. Is that the case? What's your view?"<br />"I hope the National Assembly also takes into account safety costs."<br /><br />In the finance committee audit,... tempers flared as rival parties inspected the Korea Public Finance Information Service -- the agency from which an opposition lawmaker had accessed and disclosed documents about state statistics... that the government says he was unauthorized to see.<br />The agency apologized for the incident,... saying that it would revamp its security system.<br />
