Civil Servant with Facial Tattoos and Piercings Faces 'Salary Reduction Discipline'... Personal Freedom vs Excessive Tattoos

Public official Park Shin-hee from the Military Manpower Administration [Photo by JTBC, captured from 'Newsroom' broadcast]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] A public official at the Military Manpower Administration has sparked controversy after receiving a three-month salary reduction penalty for having tattoos and piercings on their face and neck. The reason given was "violation of the duty to maintain dignity," but while some argue it is a matter of personal freedom, others debate that tattoos and piercings are excessive.

On the 4th, JTBC's "Newsroom" reported the story of Park Shinhee, a public official working in reserve forces training at the Military Manpower Administration, who was penalized with a salary reduction for having tattoos and piercings. Last year, after Park had tattoos and piercings on her face and body, the Military Manpower Administration asked her to remove them, but she refused. Consequently, under the Public Officials Act for violating the duty to maintain dignity and obey orders, Park was disciplined with a three-month salary reduction. The penalty also includes transfer to a non-affiliated area and a one-year restriction on promotion.

Park demanded the cancellation of the penalty, arguing there is no legal basis prohibiting ordinary public officials from having tattoos and that the punishment is excessive. She stated, "Before being a public official, I am a person. It's just a little drawing I had inked."

In fact, according to data released by the Ministry of Personnel Management in 2018, most cases where national public officials received a three-month salary reduction for "violation of the duty to maintain dignity" involved criminal acts such as drunk driving or sexual misconduct.

As the story became known, netizens engaged in heated debate. Some posts defended Park, saying it is excessive to impose the same penalty on her as on criminals who committed drunk driving, while others expressed opinions that Park's appearance could cause discomfort to viewers.

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