separately from corrective vision. They filed a complaint that strictly restricting admission
opportunities unfairly with more tightened standards than the laws is discrimination on the
ground of physical conditions without reasonable cause.
In response, the accused universities argued that they have to take into account
candidates' potential to become future pilots from the stage of selecting university
freshmen and that a majority of graduates of the department of aeronautical science and
flight operation are recruited by private aerospace companies after serving as military
pilots. Vision requirements for military pilot officers are 0.5 or higher in naked vision and
in the case of recruitment by private aerospace companies right after their graduation
without becoming military pilot officers, if applicants do not have naked vision equivalent
to requirements for military pilot officers, there is less possibility of being recruited, thus it
is inevitable for them to set admission criteria accordingly. Yet, they stated that they would
modify admission requirements, if the military and private aerospace companies ease their
vision requirements.
The Commission deemed that there are only two educational institutions running
aeronautical science and flight operation departments in the country, who are the two
accused universities, and thus admission eligibility set by the accused have an important
impact on applicants' opportunities to become pilots in the future. Moreover, there exist
opportunities for graduates of fight operation department to be directly recruited by private
aerospace companies even if they do not become military pilot officers and the nation's
leading aerospace companies do not impose vision requirements other than regulations
prescribed in the Enforcement Decree of the Aviation Act and that the potential of
becoming a pilot is an issue considered by aspiring individuals, not presupposed by the
accused. The Commission decided that, given the circumstances, not granting
opportunities to apply for aeronautical science and flight operation department in the first
place is unreasonable discrimination and recommended to the accused universities to adjust
vision requirements among their admission requirements for applying for the department
of aeronautical science and flight operation equivalent either to the Enforcement Decree of
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Part II. Major Activities of the Commission