Inclusion of Hair Loss in Naval Academy Admission Criteria

Midshipmen of the 69th class at the Korea Naval Academy are participating in the '2014 Naval Cruise Training Squadron,' visiting 12 countries and 12 ports, starting with Guam, USA, followed by Australia, India, Russia, and others. (Provided by the Navy)

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Korea Naval Academy has been criticized for discriminating against applicants suffering from alopecia.

On the 15th, Park Sung-jun, a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that the Korea Naval Academy included "alopecia" in the physical examination items of the 2021 admission guidelines based on the "Navy Health Management Regulations."

According to Representative Park, the Navy Health Management Regulations specify that the degree of alopecia is graded as ▲Grade 3 for 20?30% hair loss ▲Grade 4 for 30?50% hair loss ▲Grade 5 if hair loss exceeds 50% with two or more recurrences or if diffuse alopecia is recognized. Generally, those who receive below Grade 3 are known to be unlikely to pass the Naval Academy entrance exam.

Representative Park referred to the 2017 National Human Rights Commission's ruling that "refusal of employment due to baldness is a human rights violation" and judged it as discriminatory behavior, pointing out that the Korea Naval Academy's related regulations could disadvantage examinees.

In response, the Navy stated, "It does not mean 'baldness equals failure,' and there has never been a case where admission was canceled due to alopecia."

He also explained, "According to the relevant regulations, male pattern baldness is excluded regardless of severity," adding, "The disqualification criteria refer to alopecia caused by various diseases, not 'male pattern baldness.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.