Korean Air has demanded a plastic surgery clinic change the design of its staff’s uniform, claiming that it closely resembles that of its flight attendants.

The nation’s flag carrier said it sent a certified letter on Tuesday to the medical clinic in Gangnam, southern Seoul, indicating that it could bring the matter to court for design patent theft.

“The uniform really accounts for the brand image of a company, and they (the clinic) have plagiarized our design against the protective law on design patents,” a Korea Air spokesman said.

The plastic surgeon’s hospital sparked the controversy by posting an advertisement with its coordinator Bronwyn Mullen, a South African expat TV celebrity, who was hired as the beauty consultant for patients from about 14 foreign countries.

But some news reports quoted a clinic official as saying, “The color may be similar, but the design is different. They wear sky blue scarves and we wear white scarves. There is no need to make a big deal out of this.”

Korean Air’s blue-and-beige uniform was designed by the deceased senior designer of Christian Dior Gianfranco Ferre and was adopted as the company’s official uniform in 2005.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)