"Old photos" of Miss Korea 2013 winner stirs up plastic surgery controversy

KOREA - After beating off fierce competition from 54 other contestants to be crowned Miss Universe Korea 2013, the last thing  21-year-old college student Yoo Ye-bin expected was to be thrown back into the touchy controversy of plastic surgery.

The controversy surfaced when alleged photos of her during her school years surfaced online.

According to a ifeng.com report, netizens who claimed to be 'old friends of Yoo's' posted photos of an average-looking girl in a school uniform with slit eyes, drooping nose bridge and a round face, who was identified by them to be Yoo.

The appearance of the girl in the photos is in stark contrast from Yoo's current image. This led to a netizen saying: "The brutality of age is no match for a plastic surgeon's knife".

While the identity of the schoolgirl in the photos is unconfirmed, the talking point brought about by this revelation is not the first time the pageant has been blighted by allegations of appearance manipulation.

Earlier, speculation was rife about the 20 finalists of this year's pageant having undergone plastic surgery after users of online message board Reddit uncovered a composite photo of all the 20 finalists from this year's Miss Korea pageant bearing a somewhat-similar look.

Later on, a set of before-and-after photos of the contestants found online triggered debate as to whether the contestants' similar looks -- even without make-up -- was the cause of Photoshop, make-up skills or plastic surgery.

Check out the gallery below to see shots of the Miss Korea 2013 pageant, as well as promotional photos of the other contestants:

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