South Korean tattoo artist challenges work permit refusal by Minister

A South Korean tattoo artist has brought a High Court challenge against the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney’s refusal to grant her a permit allowing her to work full time at a Dublin tattoo studio.

The action has been brought by 32-year-old Haeseo Yoon, who has been in Ireland since 2019, who claims the Minister’s decision to find that Tattoo Artists are not legally entitled to work permits amounts to an error of law.

She first came to Ireland on a student visa, which allowed her to work part-time only, and has remained here after obtaining a working holiday visa.

She has been working for Dublin-based Wildcat Ink Limited which, the court was told, has been impressed with the quality of her work and would like her to work for the company on a full-time basis.

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Last year, she applied for a general employment permit, which would allow her to take up the role she had been offered.

Her application to the Minister was turned down on the grounds that the position of tattoo artist is on the list of ineligible categories of employment permits.

She claims the decision is irrational, unreasonable and amounts to an error in law. She sought a review of that initial refusal.

However, last November she was informed the original refusal was being upheld.

In High Court proceedings challenging the decision, Ms Yoon, with an address at Buckingham Street in Dublin, claims the job of tattoo artist has been wrongly classified by the Minister as being in the same class as “beauticians and related occupations”.

There is no reference to tattoo artists or anything that comes close to that occupation’s job description in the list of professions deemed ineligible for employment permits, it is claimed.

She claims that ‘tattoo artists’ should be considered in the same category as ‘artists’ when it comes to issuing work permits.

She also claimed that when considering her application, the Minister confined his discretion by referring to the UK’s Occupational Classification system.

The Minister failed to engage with submissions made by M Yoon and failed to explain or give full reasons why those submissions were rejected, it is further claimed.

Represented by Aengus Ó Corráin BL, instructed by Abbey Law Solicitors, Ms Yoon seeks various orders and declarations from the court, including an order quashing the refusal to grant her a work permit.

She also seeks an order remitting the Minister’s decision back for reconsideration by a different officer of the respondent.

The matter came before Mr Justice Charles Meenan on Monday.

The judge, on an ex parte basis (only one side was represented), granted Ms Yoon permission to bring her challenge against the Minister’s decision.

The matter will return before the courts in May.