South Korean parliament votes to allow tattooists to work without a medical license

About 20-30 tattoo artists gathered at the assembly shouted for joy and hugged each other after the act was approved. Some of them wept earlier after hearing the act would come to a floor vote on Thursday.

The act would take effect after a two-year grace period that begins once it’s formally proclaimed by President Lee Jae Myung. That step is considered a formality, as Lee and his Health Ministry have made their support for the law clear.

The bill’s passage comes as public views toward tattoos are changing. In the past, tattoos were associated with gangsters or criminals, but they are now increasingly perceived as a form of self-expression, with K-pop idols and other celebrities openly displaying tattoos.

The current restrictions traces back to a 1992 Supreme Court verdict that defined cosmetic tattoos as medical procedures, citing health issues that could be caused by tattoo needles and ink. Authorities don’t aggressively enforce the rules, allowing tattooists to thrive in the shadows.

A 2023 Health Ministry survey found that the vast majority of people with tattoos didn’t get them in hospitals. Just 6.8% of people with cosmetic tattoos — such as eyebrows, eyeliner, lips or scalps — said they got them in hospitals, and just 1.4% of people with ordinary tattoos.

In a Gallup Korea phone survey in 2021, 5% of respondents said they had received ordinary tattoos, while 28% said they had semi-permanent cosmetic tattoos. Observers say millions of people in South Korea have received tattoos, a majority of them cosmetic tattoos.

The text of the bill posted on the website of the assembly says that it aims to “resolve the gap between the law and reality and promote public health and safety” by giving tattooists licenses, regulating the scope of their work and stipulating required hygiene and safety steps.

Park Jumin, chairman of the assembly’s health committee and a key backer of the bill, said in a floor speech before the vote that the bill would help the people get tattoos safely and make tattoo artists legitimate professionals in their fields.

“Many of the lawmakers who are present here now have received eyebrow and lip tattoos. Those tattoo procedures have been all illegal and conducted without proper management because they were in a blind spot of our legal system,” Park said.

The act’s passage represented a victory for tens of thousands of tattooists in South Korea, who have fought hard to bring an end to the 33-year ban on their work. They face up to five years in prison and 50 million won ($35,740) in fines if they are caught inking people.

In recent years, judges have increasingly ruled in favor of tattoo artists or issued deferred rulings, but some have been punished with fines.

Fears of investigations have led to many tattooists in South Korea running studios without signs and with doors closed. Many have testified that they put up with customers behaving badly, while some have also moved abroad for work.