▲ Korea Tattoo Federation / Director Im Bo-ran

Unlike in the past where tattoo was an exclusive property of gangsters in South Korea, young people ink letters and images onto a certain part of their skin for show off. Like the law of demand and supply, industry is booming with tattoo shops opening competitively where hipsters gather. 

Under Korean law, however, tattoo still remained as a medical practice and any practice out of that boundary is regarded as illegal. In other words, even semi-permanent make-up is illegal in this land of morning calm where it is knowingly practiced! 

So for many tattooists, the law is out-dated and is a matter of live or death. So the Korea Tattoo Federation rolled up sleeve on behalf of dissatisfied tattooists and is pushing forward legalization of the practice for the benefit of Korean tattoo industry as a whole.

July 21, 2020, the Korea Tattoo Federation director Im Bo-ran and 541 members visited the Constitutional Court of Korea and submitted a constitutional complaint. It is the third visit and third time submission following 2019 and 2017. The ruling of the court is yet to be made while the government announced deregulation on tattooing last year. 

"It is true that inking skin can cause health and safety issue. But people in general home and abroad do not see tattoo for fashion as a medical practice. In fact, a tattooing actually causing infection has never been reported yet. Tattooing takes high level of skill and safety awareness and it is a professional job practiced by professionally trained experts" says Im.

"The tattoo law we are persuading lawmakers including Park Ju-min is not about promoting benefits of tattooists only but also laying legal base for training, qualification, practice and business which most countries have already built except South Korea where it is still regarded as medical practice" adds Im.

Digital Seoul Culture Arts University professor Kim Eun-su who publishes Korea Semi-Permanent Make-Up Journal says "New era calls new laws accordingly. It is better for lawmakers to lay legal foundation for a newly rising industry group to be trained and practice their business according to legal guide lines."

Korea Beauty Health Train Center director Seo Eun-gyeong who published 'Semi-Permanent Make-Up Artists Infection Management' says "Health and safety is a serious matter in tattoo, semi-permanent make-up and piercing. If Korean society is not wholly to ban the practice, we better bring up legal systems for training and practice."

The KSMP president Kim Dong-hyun says "Interesting to say that tattoo is illegal only in South Korea on planet earth. That's why it is problem. To solve the problem, we can make it legal like other countries."

DR & AJU law firm lawyer Son Ik-gon says "I hope the Constitutional Court would make resonable decision since petitions have been made three times already."

Im says "We will keep working hard to achieve what is necessary and what is right to us and our customers."