Korea's civil rights body ordered the Air Force to revise its discriminatory policy that excludes night college students from getting scholarships, adding that the existing system poses major problems for equality.

The country's Air Force currently runs a scholarship program that cherry picks college students through their third year and provides them with tuition and flight education courses so they can become pilots after graduating.

The program, however, is only open to those enrolled in daytime college courses, causing controversy over its discrimination against nighttime students.

"According to the country's education law, even nighttime courses are legitimate college programs," the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission said.

"The Air Force can sort out less-qualified candidates through their evaluations. It is unreasonable to ban nighttime students from applying to the program from the outset," it added.

"Even daytime colleges have differing admission qualifications, and some nighttime universities hold relatively tougher enrollment procedures. Limiting the applications of nighttime students is a crucial violation in the right to equality," it pointed out. (Yonhap)