비의료인의 문신시술 합법화 제안

Abstract

In Korea, tattoo has been long recognized as an exclusive property of criminals or deviators. Such a negative perception on it was, however, greatly diluted by the modern times in which individuals' expressions were diversified. On the other hand, the Korean law has consistently argued that the tattooing by non-medical personnel be persecuted as unlicensed medical treatment, based on the cases determining tattooing as medical treatment. This goes against the contemporary trend and is also far away from the current condition of the global legislation. This paper suggested that not all tattooing may not be medical treatment, even given the positions of the existing cases. The definition of medical treatment is not specified in laws, but open to interpretation. It is therefore possible that tattooing by non-medical personnel may not be illegal, if it is not evaluated as medical treatment by examining each case of it. Such interpretation, however, is likely to make the party's position unstable, so it is thought to be necessary to ultimately establish the concept of tattooing by legislating it. Although the National Assembly has tried to legalize tattooing by non-medical personnel many times, the substantial legislation of it is not yet achieved. This paper thus intends to urge the ultimate legislation of it, by taking a glance at the previous legislative effort, and then, proposing some contents to be included in related bills.