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A hairdresser who was handed over to trial for tattooing eyebrows at the beauty academy he runs has been acquitted.
It is the court's judgment that semi-permanent cosmetic procedures for cosmetic purposes cannot be regarded as unlicensed medical practices.
Yesterday (6th), the 5th criminal division of the Cheongju District Court (Judge Park Jong-won) announced that the beautician A (43), who was handed over to trial for violating the medical law, was acquitted.
Mr. A was handed over to trial for violating the Medical Law after performing semi-permanent makeup procedures at the Beauty Academy in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, which he ran for 5 years from June 2014.
Semi-permanent makeup uses a needle to color the eyes, eyeliner, and lips, and 'eyebrow tattoo' is one of the most representative semi-permanent makeups, which is designed by injecting dye into the eyebrow skin layer with a needle.
According to Article 27 Paragraph 1 of the Medical Act, anyone other than a medical person cannot perform medical treatment, and even a medical person cannot perform any medical activity other than those licensed.
Accordingly, since the Supreme Court judged semi-permanent makeup treatment as a 'medical practice' in 1992, if a person who is not a doctor performs tattooing until now, it will be regarded as 'unlicensed medical practice' and punishable with imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than 20 million won. there is.
However, the court concluded that the semi-permanent makeup procedure by non-medical personnel was not illegal on that day.
In the case of semi-permanent cosmetic procedures, it was judged that the procedure is not difficult enough to cause harm to health and hygiene even if it is performed by a person who does not have a doctor's license.
The court explained, "The procedure is difficult to see as a medical practice that requires advanced medical knowledge and skills as it is a repetition of a simple technique that does not hurt the skin with a needle dipped in pigment."
He added, "Just as ear piercing for earrings has become commonplace, this procedure seems to be possible only with limited medical knowledge and technology," he added.
Will 'allowing non-medical personnel to have tattoos' legalized?
Human Rights Committee in favor "Sufficient management of treatment requirements" vs.
Opposition from the medical community "side effects can only be controlled by medical personnel"
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According to the Korea Tattoo Association, the number of tattooists is estimated at 350,000 (50,000 tattoos, 300,000 semi-permanent make-up) and 13 million users. A fierce battle is continuing between the medical community, the tattoo industry, and the Human Rights Commission over this.
Some argue that the practice of tattooing by non-medical personnel should be allowed.
The Human Rights Commission said, "It cannot be said that the tattoo procedure, which leaves a certain pattern by injecting pigment into the skin, is not without risk to the human body, but it is difficult to see that it should be performed only by those who have obtained a doctor's license. It is desirable to enact legislation in this direction.”
Sanitary education for tattoo practitioners is mandatory, and sterilization techniques or disposable devices are regulated for concerns about infection caused by tattooing. Regulation is enough.
However, there are also positions in the medical world that oppose semi-permanent makeup for non-medical personnel.
The Korean Medical Association argued that "tattooing can cause side effects such as bleeding, infection, and acute chronic skin disease."
Since an act that can have a direct adverse effect on public health is a medical act,
However, as tattooing is one of the industries with high added value, it has been pointed out that there is a large gap between the current law and reality in that most tattoo treatments are performed by non-medical personnel.
In accordance with this change in the social atmosphere, legislation related to the legalization of tattoo treatment has been continuously proposed, but it is currently pending without passing the threshold of the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Meanwhile, 'permitting non-medical treatment of semi-permanent makeup' was included in the 7 regulatory trials announced by the Office of Government Policy Coordination on August 2nd, and the legalization will be decided through a 'regulatory trial meeting' in the future.
▶ [Video] Is 'non-medical tattoo treatment' illegal or legal...
What is the Constitutional Court's decision?