Rep. Ryu Ho-Jeong of the progressive minor Justice Party posted several photos of Jungkook, a BTS member, on her Twitter account on Tuesday, including some showing the star on a TV show with a bandaid covering his tattooed finger.

%u201CRemove the bandaid from the body of BTS,%u201D Ryu said in the Twitter post, introducing her legislative initiative to legalize tattooing by non-medical workers.

Tattooing is currently governed by the Medical Service Act that only allows those with a medical license to provide tattoo services.

%u201CHave you seen a bandaid plastered on the body of an artist you love? This ugly scene, uniquely rampant in Korean broadcasting, is designed to cover up tattoos,%u201D Ryu wrote, reports Koreabizwire.com

%u201CTattooing (by non-medical workers) is still illegal (here) %u2026 Korea has turned its back on %u2018K-tattoo%u2019 at a time when the population of people with tattoos reaches 3 million,%u201D she said, introducing her bill on the tattoo industry.

The Twitter posts immediately sparked protests by BTS fans accusing Ryu of taking advantage of the band%u2019s fame for her political interest.

They asked the lawmaker to remove Jungkook%u2019s photos.

%u201CPlease take down the photos. Do you really have to use portraits of a certain artist to make political remarks? %u2026 I don%u2019t understand why the idea of tattoo conjured up the image of BTS%u2019 Jungkook in your mind,%u201D a fan responded on Twitter.

%u201CHave you received consent from (Jungkook)? If not, are you trying to get a free ride on BTS%u2019 fame?%u201D another fan said on Twitter.

Ryu has not reacted to the wave of fans%u2019 protests online, nor their demand to delete the photos.

The Korea Tattoo Association estimates there were around 220,000 tattooists and beauty technicians in the country who inked 500,000 tattoos, including picture tattoos, as well as semi-permanent facial tattoos, in 2017.

The medical act, however, falls short of embracing the burgeoning tattoo market.

Even a veteran tattooist may face fines of up to 10 million won (US$8,968), or even jail time, for providing tattoo service. This dates back to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that defined tattooing as a medical service.

Article 27 of the Medical Service Act indicates that %u201Cmedical practices,%u201D including tattoos, can only be conducted by licensed medical personnel.

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