By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A Supreme Court justice-nominee has not offered his clear view over whether he agreed or disagreed with an initiative proposed by the governing party allowing small business owners and vendors having lost profits to take collective action.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) called nominee Yang Chang-soo an opportunist due to his unclear position on the agenda.
DP lawmakers, who oppose the collective action measure against violent protests, argued Yang was not qualified for the post.
At a non-binding National Assembly hearing, Rep. Woo Yoon-keun doubted the nominee's eligibility, saying Yang is not the right person as he has not properly expressed his position.
``As a Supreme Court justice-designate, Yang will be asked to express his own views based on his belief,'' Woo said.
Given that he has not given an answer to the controversial topic, the lawmaker said Yang is not the man for the job.
The nominee was asked by the panel at the hearing about his position on the governing Grand National Party (GNP)'s plan to allow business owners who lost profits due to illegal protests to get compensation from those who orchestrated such protests through collective action.
The nominee said lawmakers should listen carefully to what the public says and then should make a decision based on the consensus built.
Woo said Yang's failure in offering his own view over the issue hinted that he would be unable to act based on what he believes as a Supreme Court justice.
Other opposition lawmakers drew attention to what they called Yang's questionable ethics.
Rep. Park Young-sun of the DP brought up the case of a motor vehicle crash that allegedly occurred in May 2006 at Seoul National University where Yang served as a faculty member of the law school at the time.
Park said Yang, a former SNU professor, claimed compensation for mental distress against the university student with whom he had a minor car crash.
Park indicated Yang's demeanor was incorrect as professors are not expected to do this to students for such a minor incident.
Yang denied the allegation, saying he did not remember the case.
The nominee was also under fire for having changed his residential address to Jeju Island in 1984, while he was still living in Seoul, in an attempt to avoid inheritance taxes.
Yang admitted it, saying it was a mistake.
DP lawmakers also accused the nominee of self-plagiarism.
An article by Yang was published in 2001 in two different academic journals, they said.
The nominee said it was an unintended result, arguing that the chief editor of the second journal simply asked him to give a speech based on his article published in the first journal, not informing him that it would be published later.
Yang, the first professor-turned-Supreme Court justice-nominee, was named a Supreme Court justice on Aug. 2.