K-pop star Sowon has apologized via her management team after posting photos of herself posing with a mannequin dressed as a Nazi soldier on her Instagram page.

Sowon, who is a member of girl group GFriend, deleted the post "when she understood the significance of the image," according to a statement from Source Music, published Monday.

Sowon was "very shocked and immediately deleted the image," the company said.

"She is pained and feels deep responsibility for posting such image," read the post.

The photos were taken in November, when GFriend were filming at a cafe, Source Music said.