South Korean Cosmetic Surgery Company Cancels Sydney Event Amid Regulatory Concerns

A South Korean cosmetic surgery company has cancelled a Sydney event where prospective patients were due to meet Korean doctors, after questions were raised about the legalities of foreign doctors providing medical consultations in Australia.

The two-day, appointment-only event was advertised by South Korean company Restory Plastic Surgery, featuring two doctors who were not registered to practise in Australia.

National laws prohibit doctors who are not registered in Australia from providing medical consultations or services in the country.

In response to questions about the event, the South Korean company pulled down its advertising.

"Dr. I Yung Moon and Dr. Myung Joon Lee will not be travelling to Australia and will not be attending the Sydney event," the company said.

"We acknowledge that the presentation of the promotional material may have created the impression that the doctors themselves would be travelling to Sydney, and we would like to clarify that this is not the case."

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) confirmed wound infection and haematoma, when blood collects under the skin, were the most common face lift complications requiring operative intervention.

ASPS president Dr Brigid Corrigan said the since-cancelled event raised ethical and regulatory questions, particularly because Australian surgeons were subject to strict advertising requirements under national guidelines.

"You can't be sure that an overseas surgeon has the same level of training and experience," she said.

"If you come back to Australia then who is going to look after you?"

Dr Corrigan urged anyone considering surgery overseas to seek a second medical opinion.

"It's imperative that there is a level playing field and that the same regulations that apply to Australian surgeons apply to these companies that are actively recruiting patients in Australia," she said.

Sunshine Coast woman Pia Marshall met a different Korean cosmetic surgery company in Melbourne last year at an expo similar to the one that was due to be held in Sydney.

She said meeting patients at events like these appeared to be common practice, but after doing her own research, she decided to undergo the procedure with a different surgeon.

The marketing specialist travelled to South Korea with her mother, Marion, for matching face lifts and documented their experiences online.

Pia was quoted $36,000 for the procedures, including accommodation and 14 days in South Korea.

Ruby Tuesday Matthews, a 33-year-old Byron Bay content creator, recently documented her own face lift on social media.

"You go through ChatGPT and you're like, what questions do you [ask to] make sure I'm not going to die here?" she said in a recent interview with a cosmetic procedures podcast.

An Australia Health Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) spokesperson said in a statement: "AHPRA regulates Australian-registered health practitioners and the advertising of health services provided in Australia. AHPRA does not regulate practitioners or services outside of Australia."

Pia Marshall said it was just simply easier to go overseas.

"Being, like, hidden or not being able to show your work or promote your business, I think it's detrimental really, to the surgeons themselves but also the women because you don't know, you can't make an educated decision."