American YouTuber is jailed for 6 months in South Korea on public nuisance charge

SEOUL, South Korea — An American livestreamer who enraged South Korea by kissing a statue honoring women forced into wartime sexual slavery was jailed for six months Wednesday on public nuisance and other charges.

Johnny Somali, 25, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, had been barred from leaving South Korea since his indictment in 2024. On Wednesday, he was detained immediately after his sentencing on a range of offenses that also included distributing sexual deepfakes, according to the Seoul Western District Court.

The self-proclaimed internet troll is best known for posting provocative videos on platforms including YouTube and Twitch, several of which have banned him.

During a visit to Seoul in 2024, Somali drew outrage when he posted a clip of himself kissing and making sexual gestures toward a statue commemorating the tens of thousands of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese forces during World War II.

The issue is extremely sensitive in South Korea, a key U.S. ally in Asia that continues to demand an apology from Japan. A handful of those who were enslaved, who have also been referred to euphemistically as “comfort women,” are still alive.

Somali later apologized, saying he was unaware of the statue’s significance, and the clip was removed. But he continued to stir controversy in South Korea, with local media reporting he had been beaten up multiple times.

Somali was indicted over a number of disruptive acts including an allegation that he caused a “commotion” at a convenience store in Seoul. According to the Korea Herald, he admitted to all charges at his first trial hearing last March.

In addition to the prison term, Somali was sentenced to an additional 20 days in detention and is barred from working with children and people with disabilities for five years.

“The defendant repeatedly committed crimes against unspecified members of the public to generate profit via YouTube and distributed the content in disregard of Korean law,” the court said.

Local media reported that Somali apologized for his actions before entering court Wednesday, and that his mother had submitted a petition for leniency last month. Prosecutors had sought three years in prison, but Somali received a reduced sentence due to the “absence of severe harm to victims,” the Herald said.

While on trial last year, Somali attempted to enter the courtroom wearing a red “MAGA” hat associated with supporters of President Donald Trump but was stopped.

During the incident, he said that “Korea is a vassal state of the United States,” drawing backlash, according to local reports.

Four months later, he was seen holding a Japanese Rising Sun flag, which is viewed in South Korea as a symbol of Japanese imperialism, and making remarks that “Japan should reoccupy Korea.” He also proclaimed that “Dokdo belongs to Japan,” in reference to disputed islands that both countries claim as their own, local reports said.

Somali has repeatedly drawn controversy while traveling outside the U.S., including during a trip to Japan where he taunted subway commuters about the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, which killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people.

Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jay Ganglani from Hong Kong.

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