In a practical examination for special admission to the Physical Education Department of the University of Incheon, the university authority required a student with disability of crippled disorder grade III to compete equally against other students without disabilities in a 20-meter shuttle run and high jump. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chief Commissioner Kyong-Whan Ahn) determined that such requirement constituted a discriminatory act against persons with disabilities and accordingly recommended that the University of Incheon make relevant improvements to its admission system.
In January 2007, a complainant only known as Kim (person with disability of crippled disorder grade III and an expected graduate of the Martial Arts Department, Incheon City College) failed to pass the practical examination for special admission to the Physical Education Department of University of Incheon. In the same month, he filed a complaint with the NHRCK, arguing that " The application to the complainant of the same rating standards applicable to persons with no disabilities by the University of Incheon in the 20-meter shuttle run and high jump constitutes discrimination against persons with disabilities as the complainant was requested to accomplish something that is virtually impossible."
Article 4 of the Framework Act on Education provides that all Korean nationals shall not be subjected to discrimination in education on grounds of gender, religion, belief, social status, economic position or physical conditions, etc.
For people with disabilities, education is a basic human right and serves as the foundation of their social participation in every facet of their life. Accordingly, their exclusion from the educational system on grounds of disabilities or their being denied access to high-quality education as enjoyed by persons with no disabilities is tantamount to discrimination against persons with disabilities in education.
In November 2005, the government, buoyed by public support and disabled athletes" determination, established the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with a view to ensuring that through physical education, many people with disabilities can realize their dreams and hopes outside home and that they become true members of Korean society and lead genuinely healthy lives. Sports for all refer to sports activities that can be easily performed by people in their daily lives, not sports events by professional athletes. Sports for all allow for effective use of leisure time, maintenance of health, and creation of new interpersonal relations.
To date, there have been few sports activities by persons with disabilities as a result of low public awareness, social indifference, or disregard for such sports. People with disabilities once were an alienated group but now have growing desire for physical and mental health through sports activities, just like persons with no disabilities, thanks to social stability, equal education opportunities, expanded opportunities for social participation, and increasing interest in living in harmony with other members of society as members of a community. Accordingly, there exists a growing desire on the part of persons with disabilities to major in physical education for the purpose of promoting sports for people with disabilities.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development encourages colleges to use an extraordinary special selection system to enroll a certain number of students with disabilities. However, the University of Incheon said that it did not implement such a system because of certain conditions had yet to be met. Thus, it has used only ordinary special admission, special admission for bachelors" degree holders, and special admission for students from agricultural and fishing villages. In the selection process of students to be admitted to the Physical Education Department as juniors in 2007, to which the complainant applied, three applicants were chosen under ordinary special admission and special admission for bachelors" degree holders. The university argued that no student with disabilities had ever been admitted to the Physical Education Department.
As mentioned earlier, the NHRCK determined that equal educational opportunities must be offered to persons with disabilities in not only general subjects, but also physical training to keep pace with social changes.
The NHRCK judged the University of Incheon" s failure to proactively provide care for persons with disabilities including introduction of an extraordinary selection scheme for them and its application of the same evaluation criteria applicable to persons with no disabilities to the complainant with crippled disorder grade III in a practical examination for ordinary special admission was completely unreasonable. The applicant had virtually no chance of meeting the criteria. Thus, the NHRCK issued said recommendation for improvement in the belief that such discriminatory act on grounds of disability with no reasonable cause must be rectified.
