Tattoo Procedures Limited to Licensed Medical Professionals, Most Illegal
Some Adolescents Even Offered Physical Contact as Payment for Procedures
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Illegal tattoo procedures targeting adolescents are rampant in the underground scene, highlighting the need for more stringent regulations. Some practitioners perform tattoos on minors for practice, while unqualified individuals conduct procedures at homes and other places, indicating widespread illegality. Increasingly, teenagers who receive tattoos in secret from adults regret their decisions and seek tattoo removal methods.
As of the 27th, searching for terms like ‘mijatattoo (minor tattoo)’ or ‘youth tattoo’ on social networking services (SNS) reveals numerous posts presumed to be written by adolescents nationwide. Most of these posts are requests to find practitioners or studios willing to tattoo minors.
Currently, there is no age restriction on tattoo procedures under existing law. Therefore, tattooing adolescents itself cannot be classified as illegal. However, tattoo practitioners are required to be licensed medical professionals, yet some perform procedures illegally without medical licenses in the underground market. In such cases, procedures performed on both minors and adults are illegal. Moreover, unqualified practitioners’ indiscriminate procedures raise concerns not only about hygiene issues like sterilization but also about risks of infections, scarring, and other side effects.
Some minors even offer ‘skinship’ or physical contact as payment to practitioners reluctant to tattoo adolescents. A recent KakaoTalk conversation shared by a practitioner on SNS illustrates this situation. A female student claiming to be 17 asked a practitioner, who said tattooing minors was difficult, “Would it be possible if I offer skinship?” The practitioner firmly refused.
Many adolescents regret receiving illegal tattoos through such covert means. Those who visited poorly skilled studios because of low prices often face disappointment and look for tattoo removal methods, which are not cheap. Typically, the cost of tattoo removal is known to be more than ten times the original tattooing fee.
Ms. A (18), who tattooed her arms and legs for self-satisfaction, said, “I got a tattoo with friends two years ago, but I deeply regret it due to side effects like dermatitis. I want to remove it, but because the tattoo has colors, the removal cost is too expensive, so I don’t know what to do.”
Accordingly, some voices call for the prompt establishment of clear legal standards for the tattoo industry and thorough regulation. In fact, the Justice Party recently proposed the ‘Tattoo Industry Act,’ which includes specific regulations such as allowing only qualified practitioners in officially registered studios to perform tattoos. Although it does not have a separate clause restricting procedures on minors, it states that ‘the subjects of tattooing and the specific scope and limits of tattooists’ duties shall be determined by presidential decree,’ leaving room for the enforcement decree to restrict tattooing minors.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
