South Korea moves closer to legalizing tattoo artistry

GOYANG, South Korea (AP) — As a popular tattoo artist in South Korea, Song Jaemin is fully booked weeks in advance and highly respected by his clients, some of whom come from abroad to see him. But each time Song inks someone, he commits a crime since it is illegal to give tattoos without a medical license in South Korea.

“I began this even though I knew it was illegal, but I was confident that legal restrictions would be eased and things would change," Song, 28, said in a recent interview at his studio in Goyang near Seoul. "Many tattoo artists think we are not doing illegal things and there is just no law for us.”

Song's prediction could soon become reality. South Korea's National Assembly is expected to pass a landmark bill soon that would allow non-medical personnel to give tattoos.

The passing of the Tattooist Act would mark a victory for tens of thousands of tattooists in South Korea, who have used rallies, constitutional appeals and other means in their bid to nullify a decades-long ban on their work. Their fight has gained strength as public sentiment toward tattoos has evolved.

“I think I'll shed tears, as it would take a long-accumulated load off my mind,” said Kim Sho-yun, 45, who runs a cosmetic tattoo studio in Hanam city.

In South Korea, tattoos in the past were associated with gangsters and criminals but have been gradually accepted as a form of self-expression. Now, it's easy to find people from all walks of life with tattoos, including K-pop stars like BTS's Jungkook, TWICE's Chaeyoung and BigBang's G-Dragon.

Experts estimate that millions of South Koreans have tattoos, about 70% of them as semi-permanent cosmetic tattoos on their eyebrows, eyelines, lips or scalps.

Despite the widespread adoption of tattoos, South Korea still only officially allows licensed doctors to give them in line with a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that viewed tattooing as a medical treatment, citing potential health risks caused by tattoo needles and inks.

South Korea remains the only country in the developed world with such a regulation. Tattoo artists face up to five years in prison and 50 million won ($35,740) in fines if they are caught inking people. However, the government doesn't aggressively enforce these rules, allowing tattooists to thrive in the shadows. A 2023 Health Ministry survey found that only 1.4% of respondents with personal tattoos and 6.8% of those with cosmetic tattoos said they were inked in hospitals.

“I think it’s nonsensical ... Lawmakers, entertainers and so many people around me have tattoos. But if it’s really illegal, am I a lawbreaker?” asked Kim Soyoung, 54, a customer at Kim Sho-yun's studio.

Song, who won a top prize in a 2023 domestic tattoo competition, said his clients include police officers, civil servants, soldiers and U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. He said some of his clients have traveled from China, the U.K., Malaysia and Iraq.

In recent years, judges have increasingly ruled in favor of tattoo artists or issued deferred rulings as a way to protect them, but some tattooists have been punished with fines. Lim Bo-ran, leader of the Korea Tattoo Federation, said she urges tattoo artists to appeal financial penalties to higher courts in a bid to step up their fight.

Tattoo artists fear that someone might report the illicit nature of their business to officials, forcing them to investigate. Some tattooists subsequently put up with customers behaving badly or run studios without signs. Some have also moved abroad for work.

Kim said she was “truly terrified” when a person close to her threatened to report her business to authorities and “destroy all I have" after they fought over something unrelated six years ago. She said the dispute was eventually resolved, but she still remembers the panic that seized her.

Lim said some female tattooists have suffered sexual assaults but did not report them to authorities because they worried about losing their jobs.

The Tattooist Act, which would take effect following a two-year grace period, centers on the introduction of official licenses for tattoo artists. The process would require tattooists to take hygiene education courses at government-designated places every year.

Lim said the law would be a welcome development but that it would also burden tattoo artists by putting them under government supervision.

There is bipartisan support for the act, which has already been approved in the assembly’s health and judiciary committees. The Health Ministry says it supports the act, while opposition from doctors has weakened. Observers say the earliest possible date for the act’s passage is Thursday, when a plenary session is scheduled.

Kim said she feels a sense of accomplishment when her customers are satisfied with her work to make them look better or prettier. She said memorable clients include cancer patients who received eyebrow tattoos before chemotherapy, which could cause them to lose their eyebrows.

Song said he feels “tremendous pride" in putting his work on people's bodies that they will carry for their entire lives. He said meaningful tattoos at his studio have included works depicting clients' late loved ones.

“There is no limit in tattoos. Whatever you draw on paper, carbon paper, walls or elsewhere, we can also do the same on human bodies. There are really unlimited tattoo styles and artists,” Song said.

When Associated Press journalists visited Song's studio, he was putting the final touches on a months-long work of the image of Jesus Christ on the forearm of Lee Byong-joo, 37, who already has many other tattoos including a tiger, whale, clouds and words longing for his late grandmother.

“I feel good as I can have pictures that I like on my body for good,” Lee said. “But I can't have more tattoos after this because my wife told me to stop getting new ones.”

Kim Sho-yun, 45, who runs a cosmetic tattoo studio, speaks during an interview in Hanam, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Kim Sho-yun, 45, who runs a cosmetic tattoo studio, draws a woman's eyebrow with pencil as she consults for semi-permanent cosmetic tattoos in Hanam, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Tattoo artist Song Jaemin, right, works to tattoo an image of Jesus Christ on the forearm of Lee Byong-joo at his studio in Goyang, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Tattoo artist Song Jaemin works to tattoo an image of Jesus Christ on the forearm of Lee Byong-joo at his studio in Goyang, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Tattoo artist Song Jaemin, right, works to tattoo an image of Jesus Christ on the forearm of Lee Byong-joo at his studio in Goyang, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Tattoo artist Song Jaemin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his studio in Goyang, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Tattoo artist Song Jaemin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his studio in Goyang, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

LONDON (AP) — Apple's next CEO John Ternus is a company veteran who rose through the iPhone maker's hardware engineering ranks but until now has maintained a low profile.

Ternus will take over as chief executive in September for Tim Cook, who turned Apple into a $4 trillion, tech colossus during his 15-year reign after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

Ternus, 50, has spent almost his entire career with Apple. He joined the company 25 years ago and has spent the past five years overseeing the engineering that underlies the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

It's made him a prime contender to succeed Cook who on Monday, when Apple announced the change in leadership, hailed Ternus as “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

Ternus worked on some of Apple's signature products under Cook, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro. He was also involved in the MacBook Neo, "arguably one of the most disruptive products” that Apple has released in a while, said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.

“This mentorship will undoubtedly ensure a smooth transition, and initially, I expect very few changes to the company’s strategy,” Wood said.

The appointment appeared to be carefully timed, following Apple's 50th anniversary celebrations and ahead of its annual WWDC developers conference in June.

The change also arrives at a pivotal time for the Cupertino, California, company. While Cook led Apple through an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity, Apple has fallen behind in the artificial intelligence race. Apple has stumbled in its efforts to deliver new features built on AI, as was promised nearly two years ago.

“The challenge for the new CEO is really to make sure Apple is able to crack AI as the new user interface and reinvent human machine interaction," Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson said.

Wood says attention at WWDC will be on the new CEO's AI strategy, and what the company will do next after turning earlier this year to Google — an early leader in the AI race — to help make the iPhone’s virtual assistant Siri more conversational and versatile.

“A big strategic question is how far Apple will invest in building its own AI platform versus relying on other companies’ models and platforms,” Wood said.

Ternus will also be tested by host of other challenges that don't involve his expertise in hardware.

“Apple faces a turbulent market amid geopolitical uncertainty and macroeconomic pressures,” Wood said. “The consumer electronics industry faces a perfect storm, with memory chip shortages and the war in the Middle East having widespread implications for consumer confidence. Apple will also need to decide how much it wants to continue its deep reliance on China for manufacturing.”

Ternus is not well known outside of the Apple universe. He joined the company in July 2001, according to his LinkedIn profile, which does not have any posts.

Before joining Apple, he spent four years as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He graduated in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the swim team and for his senior project developed a mechanical feeding arm for quadriplegics controlled by head movements.

In a 2024 commencement speech to the university's engineering school, Ternus said he was intimidated when he first started working at Apple and wasn't sure he belonged. He learned to “always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room but never assume you know as much as they do.”

“There will always be new skills to master and new people to learn from,” he said.

Ternus said in Apple's announcement that he was "humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century.”

FILE - Apple's John Ternus speaks during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)