Doctor Who Provided Skin Care Room for 1,100 Tattoo Procedures Has Conviction Overturned — Why

▲ Chuncheon District Court

A doctor who was previously convicted of aiding a non-medical professional in performing semi-permanent tattoos has been acquitted after seven years following a Supreme Court precedent change.

Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1-2 announced today (October 13) that in the appeal trial for A (64), who was indicted on charges of aiding and abetting illegal medical practices under the Special Act on the Control of Public Health Crimes, the court overturned the lower court ruling that had sentenced him to a prison term with probation and found him not guilty.

A, who operated a plastic surgery clinic in Wonju, was put on trial for aiding a non-medical person in performing semi-permanent tattoo procedures and abetting unlicensed medical practices for profit over a three-year period starting in 2014.

At the time, A's spouse independently operated the skin care room inside the hospital, agreed to split the profits with a non-medical tattoo practitioner, and performed about 1,100 semi-permanent tattoo procedures on areas such as eyebrows and eyeliners, earning approximately 180 million won.

Despite knowing these facts, A helped facilitate the unlicensed medical practice by providing the skin care room and purchasing anesthetic cream required for the procedures under the hospital's name.

The first trial sentenced A to one year in prison, two years of probation, and a fine of 2 million won. However, the second trial focused on the fact that the Supreme Court en banc changed its precedent in May for the first time in 34 years, holding that "semi-permanent tattoo procedures by non-medical professionals do not constitute unlicensed medical practices."

The court stated that since semi-permanent tattooing does not constitute a medical act and thus the practitioner's crime is not established, the charge of aiding and abetting cannot be applied to A either, overturning the original verdict and acquitting him.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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