South Korean plastic surgeons have Hong Kong in their sights, says consul general

Doctors from South Korea have been eyeing the Hong Kong market to expand the country's love of plastic surgery to elsewhere in Asia, according to the consul general for Hong Kong and Macau.

"Lots of plastic surgeons have contacted me asking how they can enter the Hong Kong market, or asked tips on how they can start a business here," said Kim Kwang-dong. "But I discourage them since local regulations have been very straight."

South Korea has been dubbed the world's capital of cosmetic surgery, accounting for around 24 per cent of the plastic surgery market worldwide.

One in five South Korean women has had plastic surgery, according to some media reports in the country. In the affluent Gangnam district of Seoul - home to a population of about half a million - there are some 500 plastic surgery clinics.

But for a plastic surgeon to practise in Hong Kong they must undergo a series of examinations before they can obtain a licence.