On August 15, the Big Bang member shared a photo on his Instagram. The image shows Seungri standing in a crowd with a smile. The issue surrounds the object in front of Seungri, which seems to be a photographer's camera with a rising sun flag; a flag that is symbolic of the Japanese empire and a painful reminder of the cruelty of the Japanese rule over Korea. 

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The day Seungri shared the photo also happened to be Korea's 72nd National Liberation Day. 

Netizens expressed anger, and commented, "Can he not tell that that's the rising sun flag? That's sickening", "He's now at the point where he's just being ignorant to his fans and Koreans".

On the other hand, some fans claim the sticker on the photographer's camera is not a rising sun flag but just a logo of a Malaysian broadcasting station. 

Seungri soon deleted the post on his Instagram. The issue is also being compared to Girls' Generation Tiffany's rising sun flag controversy that occurred last summer.