RM, the leader of the K-pop supergroup BTS, has offered his support for a South Korean short track speed skater who was disqualified during the Beijing Winter Olympics due to a questionable refereeing judgment, amid rising public fury.

The singer shared a photo of Hwang Dae-heon passing Chinese competitors during a men's 1,000m semifinal on his Instagram account Monday night, along with a thumbs-up emoticon. Hwang came in first, but was dismissed for an illegal late pass, according to the referee.

RM didn't say anything about the photo, but it was interpreted as a show of support for the athlete who was eliminated owing to poor officiating that allowed Chinese skaters to proceed to the final while the host country took gold and silver.

In a different men's 1,000m semifinal, Lee June-seo, a fellow short track speed skater, was disqualified for a lane change that made contact with another skater, in what many regard as another harsh judgment.

South Korea immediately lodged a protest with the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and plans to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest international sports tribunal.

Following RM's tweet, Chinese netizens bombarded BTS' official Instagram account with hateful comments.

The refereeing decisions have exacerbated anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea, which was already high after China paraded a traditional Korean dress, the hanbok, during Friday's Olympic opening ceremony, amid suspicions that the country was attempting to claim not only the hanbok, but also the traditional Korean dish kimchi, and even Korean history as its own.