Health Ministry Distributes 'Standard Guidelines for Tattoo Procedures'... Tattoo Artist Act to Take Effect from Next October

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute announced on July 30 that they will distribute the "Standard Guidelines for Tattoo Procedures," which cover requirements that must be observed during tattoo procedures.

Ministry of Health and Welfare Sejong Government Complex. Photo by Yonhap News

These standard guidelines have been established in anticipation of the implementation of the newly enacted "Tattoo Artist Act" in October next year. The guidelines cover facility and environmental requirements for tattoo parlors, hygiene and safety standards for tattoo artists, and procedures before and after the tattooing process.

The guidelines clarify the definition of tattooing by categorizing it into art tattoos and cosmetic tattoos. Art tattoos refer to drawing images or lettering on the body, while cosmetic tattoos include procedures such as semi-permanent makeup. Additionally, the guidelines provide clear definitions for facility and equipment terms, and for terms involving cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization, specifically defining 55 terms used in the main text.

Tattoo parlors must be divided into waiting areas, procedure areas, and cleaning/disinfection areas, and partitions as well as walls can be used for separation. Guidelines also specify how equipment should be arranged for efficient workflows and provide sanitation and environmental management rules for each zone.

Equipment used for procedures must, in principle, be sterile and single-use, and must be discarded immediately after use. If equipment is reused, cleaning and disinfection are mandatory procedures, while sterilization is recommended. High-risk consumables such as pigment cups and gauze must be sterile and single-use, and wearing sterile gloves during procedures is required at all times.

Key forms, such as user consent forms and tattoo procedure record sheets, are also provided as templates. Practitioners must check a user's health status form to determine whether the procedure can be performed. If the user has a history of blood-borne infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B or C, the guidelines require that the user first consult a medical institution and obtain a medical opinion before deciding whether to proceed with the procedure.

The standard guidelines will be distributed through local governments and tattoo artist associations, and can also be downloaded from the websites of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute.

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eunkyung stated, "Now that the Tattoo Artist Act has been enacted after lengthy discussions, it is more important than ever that safe tattoo procedures take place within the institutional framework. I urge practitioners to familiarize themselves with and adhere to the hygiene management guidelines when performing tattoo procedures, and to thoroughly prepare and inspect their facilities and environments ahead of the law’s implementation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.