'Miss Korea Winner' Jeong Yeon-woo Says, "Does Being a Natural Beauty Raise Your Value?" — Takes Aim at Woo Seo-yoon Plastic Surgery Rumors

[Financial News] Jeong Yeon-woo, the 2025 Miss Korea winner, shared her candid thoughts on the recent plastic surgery controversy surrounding Miss Korea contestants.
On the 28th, Jeong Yeon-woo received questions from other users on her social networking service, including, "Haven't you had plastic surgery?" and "Are you a natural beauty?"
She began by saying, "The thing I have heard most while competing in Miss Korea is comments about plastic surgery." She added, "I have watched countless times as people easily hurt not only me, but also my beloved colleagues, with such rude and worthless remarks."
She went on to say, "I have not had plastic surgery, but I have had procedures several times. If you don't want to believe that, I honestly don't care." She then asked, "What I really want to know is why people are so curious about whether someone has had plastic surgery. Does being a natural beauty make your value go up, and if not, does it go down?"
Jeong Yeon-woo said, "A person's value is not something anyone can casually assign, and it certainly is not determined by appearance."
She also explained, "Miss Korea is a competition that evaluates people, so focusing on appearance is an unavoidable part of it." However, she added, "What many people misunderstand is that we appear on stage only after going through several rounds of judging, including private one-on-one interviews, intelligence presentations on current affairs, self-introductions, and talent competitions tailored to the contest's themes."
She added, "It is disappointing that every year, the biggest controversy is whether contestants have had plastic surgery, because it feels as if the efforts of those who have gone through all these stages, and even the essence of the competition, are being devalued."
In closing, Jeong Yeon-woo said, "People who inspect others' faces one by one, wondering what has changed; people who assume someone has had plastic surgery without even trying to look closely; people trapped in their narrow-minded thinking who act rudely toward others; and people who do all this without even realizing how shameful it is. It is only sad to see the limited perspective of those who can look at others in no other way."
The issue began after Woo Seo-yoon, the daughter of former national basketball player Woo Ji-won, was crowned the 2026 Miss Korea winner. Some online users compared her current appearance with footage from a past TV appearance and raised suspicions of plastic surgery. Since then, debate has intensified over whether other Miss Korea contestants have had cosmetic procedures.

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