[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 3rd, nationwide semi-permanent makeup artists, tattooists, and tattoo-related organizations called for the enactment of the Tattooist Act to legalize tattoos by non-medical personnel.
On this day, the Korea Tattooists Association and related organizations held a resolution rally near the National Assembly in the afternoon, demanding, "Enact the Tattooist Act currently pending in the National Assembly."
After the rally, they marched to the offices of the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party to deliver a letter and announced that they would submit a petition from tattooists who attended the rally to the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee.
They pointed out that although tattoos have become popular and widespread, and the artistic value of tattooists is recognized as 'K-Tattoo,' tattooing is defined as a 'medical act' in Korea, and non-medical tattooists are punished as illegal medical practitioners.
Through a declaration, they questioned, "Common sense tells us that tattooing cannot be a medical act, and even individual medical professionals do not acknowledge it, so why does this country make us criminals?" They added, "The government should stop unfair law enforcement, and the National Assembly should promptly enact the Tattooist Act. Tattoo experts are tattooists, and the areas of health and hygiene involved in tattooing should also be performed by tattooists."
They also pointed out that more than 10 million citizens recognize tattooists as experts and visit tattoo shops for tattoos, including eyebrow tattoos and fashion tattoos, but there is no system or regulation to manage and supervise them, making it impossible to verify the environment of tattoo businesses, the materials used, or the qualifications of practitioners.
They emphasized, "For the health and safety of the public, the enactment of the law is urgently needed as soon as possible."
Im Bo-ran, president of the Korea Tattooists Association, said, "We are angry that the six tattoo-related bills currently pending in the National Assembly are not even being reviewed by the relevant standing committees and that time is being wasted," and criticized, "How long will innocent citizens be treated as criminals and punished, becoming targets of criminal groups that exploit this?"
She raised her voice, saying, "Even though the National Human Rights Commission and the National Assembly Legislative Research Office recommend alleviating concerns about tattoos in a safe environment and system for the majority of citizens, the National Assembly is doing nothing. We urge prompt legislation."
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