South Korea’s National Assembly has passed a bill aimed at granting legal status to tattoo artists, effectively decriminalizing the practice for non-medical professionals. This legislative action addresses a prior legal framework, established by a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, which classified tattooing as a medical procedure exclusively permitted for licensed doctors. Under the former law, individuals practicing tattooing without a medical license faced penalties that included fines up to $36,000 or imprisonment.
The proposed legislation, which President Lee Jae Myung is expected to sign into law, would enable tattoo artists to operate openly rather than in clandestine environments. This initiative is anticipated to facilitate a shift in the perception of body art within the country, moving away from its historically censored and taboo status.
Source: www.nytimes.com