Pilot: "No Legal Basis for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Collect Medical Information"

Korean Civil Aviation Pilots Association "Strong Response"

Airline pilots have expressed opposition to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's research project that collects and manages the individual health status of flight crew members. They argue that if the policy is implemented, the government would be excessively collecting individuals' private information, which conflicts with current laws such as the Personal Information Protection Act.

On the 11th, the Korea Civil Aviation Pilots Association and the Republic of Korea Pilots Labor Union Federation announced that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport commissioned a project to the Catholic University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and that the 'Task Force for the Management System of Physical and Mental Condition Deterioration of Aviation Personnel' is currently operating.

The Pilots Association stated regarding the research, "Under the pretext of managing the physical and mental condition of aviation personnel, it essentially requires all domestic flight crew members to mandatorily report their health status to aviation medical specialists appointed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport." They criticized the intention as the government collecting pilots' private medical information, including past illnesses, and having airlines directly manage it.

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They also claimed that such information collection and management activities violate current laws. The association said, "The amendment to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) annex, cited as the basis for these actions, exceeds the interpretation of current domestic laws and related precedents," adding, "It conflicts with the Personal Information Protection Act and the Medical Service Act, and the government is unilaterally pushing it forward without clear legal grounds."

The association pointed to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's recent attempt to implement a system recording some pilots' medical history on aviation medical certificates, which was later revised, saying, "The government's intentions are suspicious." A representative of the association stated, "There is already a case where the Ministry forcibly pushed changes to the flight crew health management system over two years, violating fundamental rights and the Personal Information Protection Act, resulting in the suspension of the system's implementation."

The association said, "The policy direction is moving toward disclosing personal information that should be thoroughly protected," and added, "We completed a legal review of the task force last month and plan to respond strongly based on this."

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