Regulatory Direction of Tattooing Practice in Korea* - According to the comparison and analysis of bills and legislation regarding tattooists around the world -

Abstract

In Korea, the practice of tattooing is considered part of medical practices that requires the attention of medical personnel, which makes tattooing by non-medical personnel an unlicensed medical practice and subject to penalties as a violation of the Medical Service Act. Tattooing, as interpreted in Koreanjudicial precedents, not only consists of semi- permanent makeup involving pigment injection to the eyebrows or lips, but also the inscription of certain designs or texts on the skin. However, in Korean clinical settings, the medical personnel seldomperform such forms of tattooing, and most of the eyebrow tattoos are practiced by the cosmetic sector. The legal sector’s understanding of tattooing has become very different from that of thegeneral public, and tattooists are complaining that their basic rights, such as freedom of occupationsand expression, are being violated. As the general public does not view tattooing as a medical practice, the controversy over the tattooing practice is only getting worse. The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has proposed separate legislation that defines the tattooing practice and the qualifications to perform such practice and as of 2021, three different legislative bills on the subject are pending. In this article, the writers aim to review the regulations and past cases on the tattooing practice, along with the three pending legislative bills on tattooing, before analyzing the existing regulations on tattooing practices in three other Northeastern Asian nations - namely, Taiwan, Japan, and China - and would like to suggest a regulatory direction of tattooing practice as a means of consumer protection.