<Anchor> The



meeting to decide the minimum wage for next year is in full swing. The labor community, who insists on an hourly wage of 10,000 won, and the business community, who insists on an hourly wage of 8,800 won, are in the final stages of negotiations. Let's connect with a reporter on the spot.



Reporter Hwa Gang-yun, the gap between the two sides is large, so the negotiations are going to be quite long. How are you doing now?



<Reporter>



Yes, the meeting, which started on the afternoon of the 12th, has continued for more than 5 hours, repeating adjournment and resumption.



As if foretelling an all-night meeting, the lawmakers finished their dinner early and returned to the meeting room here to prepare for the meeting to begin again.



This afternoon, both sides presented the third amendment bill.



The labor community offered 10,000 won, up 1,280 won from this year, and the business community, 8,850 won, an increase of 130 won, there is still a big gap.



In particular, the 4th COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a major issue in the minimum wage negotiations.



The labor community argued that the minimum wage should be drastically raised to secure a social safety net and prevent imbalances in recovery during disasters, and the business community is of the view that a decision close to freezing is inevitable to protect small businesses and SMEs whose survival is threatened by strengthening social distancing.



The minimum wage, which recorded two double-digit increases during this administration, rose only 2.9% last year and 1.5% this year, the lowest in history.



In order to meet the legal notice deadline on August 5th, the minimum wage level for next year must be decided by tomorrow at the latest, so the final draft is expected to be drawn tonight or early tomorrow.



If differences of opinion are not narrowed down, there is a possibility that public interest members may propose a proposal for the minimum wage for next year and put it to a vote just like last year.



(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, video editing: Park Jin-hoon)