Tattooists in South Korea condemned a ‘pathetic’ ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court on Friday that upheld a prohibition on the technique by non-medical practitioners. While tattooing is not prohibited in South Korea, it is classified as a medical practice that may only be performed by a doctor.
Violations of the decades-old rule can result in up to two years in jail or a fine of 10 million won (US$8,200), however, prosecutions are uncommon. A group of South Korean tattoo artists had challenged the ban, but the court denied their appeal on Thursday, citing the potential of ‘health-related adverse effects’.
‘It’s really terrible since only the justices of the Constitutional Court appear to be unaware of this,’ Kim, who heads a union of 650 tattoo artists, added. Kim is facing legal action after being caught on camera tattooing a prominent South Korean actress. He has promised to fight it with whatever legal measures are at his disposal. ‘I want to be acquitted by the Korean Supreme Court,’ he stated, adding that this would ‘create a relevant legal precedent’.
The continued restriction underscores tattoos’ lengthy marginalization in South Korea, where they were formerly virtually exclusively connected with organized crime. The court stated it was up to the country’s lawmakers to decide whether a new license scheme for non-medically certified tattooists should be implemented. ‘Even if certain unlicensed medical practitioners have a particular aptitude for practicing medicine without causing harmful effects,’ the justices wrote.
According to the Korea Tattoo Association, at least a million individuals in the nation have tattoos, and the illegal but increasing industry is worth around 200 billion won ($170 million) every year. As per the report, another 200,000 beauticians who use tattooing procedures to apply permanent cosmetics to their clients are also subject to the present restrictions.
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