SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's state human rights watchdog on Wednesday accused flag carrier Korean Air of gender discrimination by hiring mainly female flight attendants.

The National Human Rights Commission said the airline has been told to stop the 11-year-old practice of excluding men when advertising for cabin crew.

It said Korean Air recruits male flight attendants only from its ground staff and not from the general public.

'Korean Air has been advised to correct its practice, which is seen as gender discrimination banned by law,' the commission said in a statement.

Korean Air, which has 400 male attendants and 3,600 female ones, rejected the recommendation.

'We cannot accept the commission's recommendation, which ignored our strategic position... and is expected to seriously hurt the autonomy of the company,' it said in a statement.

The airline insisted it has maintained an 'efficient' employment system to strengthen its service and competitiveness.

Korea has traditionally been a male-dominated society. The US State Department's 2007 human rights report noted that 'gender discrimination in the workplace remained a problem.' -- AFP