Woo Seo-yun, daughter of former basketball star Woo Ji-won, wins Miss Korea amid plastic surgery debate

Woo Seo-yun, 23, the daughter of former professional basketball player and broadcaster Woo Ji-won, has been crowned Miss Korea Jin, sparking a plastic surgery debate after old photos of her began circulating online.

Woo was named Miss Korea Jin — the pageant's top honor — on Saturday at the 70th Miss Korea pageant finals organized by Global E&B, beating out 25 other finalists.

Woo competed representing the Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon region. She is currently studying fine arts at Tufts University in the United States, with aspirations of becoming a global art curator.

Her selection as Miss Korea Jin — a title widely regarded as the standard of beauty in South Korea — has drawn renewed attention to her past appearances. Woo had appeared on entertainment programs when she was younger, giving the public a window into her upbringing.

Woo appeared on the tvN variety show "Dungji Talchul 3" at age 16, and footage from that program showing a noticeably younger-looking Woo has drawn comparisons to her current appearance.

Some online commenters raised plastic surgery allegations, arguing that "plastic surgery may be a personal choice, but competing in Miss Korea is a different matter," and calling on the pageant to ban contestants who have undergone cosmetic procedures.

Others pushed back, saying that weight loss alone can dramatically change a person's appearance — enough, as one commenter put it, to seem "like winning the lottery" — and cautioning against jumping to conclusions.