A South Korean court upheld a decades-old ban that prevents artists from tattooing, making the Asian country the sole developed nation in the world to prohibit nonmedical professionals from tattooing people.
The Constitutional Court in the capital city of Seoul voted 5-4 on Thursday to keep the ban intact, citing the risks involved with tattooing, according to Reuters. Those who are found in violation of the ban are subject to a fine of up to 50 million Korean won, or roughly $41,300, and a two-year prison sentence.
“The limited medical knowledge and skills involved in tattooing cannot ensure the levels of treatment that medical professionals can provide, treatment that may be needed before or after the procedure,” the court’s ruling said.
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A tattoo union of 650 artists slammed the law.
“Why do they insist tattooing is a medical procedure even though doctors can’t and don’t do that?” Kim Sho-yun, the vice president of the Korea Tattoo Federation, said, according to the outlet.
According to the outlet, South Korea’s tattoo ban affects nearly 50,000 tattoo artists, who risk being prosecuted and hunted by the police.
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Other countries have moved in the opposite direction in recent years, loosening restrictions on tattoo artists. In September 2020, Japan‘s Supreme Court ruled that tattoo artists no longer needed medical licenses to tattoo people.
