SEE ALSO: HyunA and Yong Junhyung turn heads with stylish couple nail art

The photo that sparked the issue was from SBS MTV's 'The Show's Twitter, which tweeted the picture you see above. Although upon a quick glance, the photo seems as harmless as can be, nothing escapes the sharp eyes of netizens, who spotted the red and white rays in the graphic of the two's matching hoodies. 

The Rising Sung Flag is seen as representing Japanese imperialism and was used during Japan's conquest of its neighboring Asian countries such as China and Korea. Thus it is looked upon very negatively in those countries that suffered losses under that flag.

'The Show' has since deleted the photo on its Twitter, but not before it had already spread among netizens and media outlets.

Trouble Maker's reps clarified to Osen, "The image on Trouble Maker's outfits is not of the Rising Sun but a flower bud... But seeing that as a misunderstanding has risen, we apologize for not having paid closer attention to the details of their outfits."