'Disrespectful' YouTuber jailed for six months after kissing Korean wartime memorial
Johnny Somali, 25, sparked outrage when he performed a series provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan for his Youtube and Twitch channels
An American YouTuber has been sentenced to six months in a South Korean prison for kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves.
Listen to this article
Johnny Somali, 25, sparked outrage when he performed a series provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan for his Youtube and Twitch channels.
The content creator - whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael - was indicted by South Korean authorities in October 2024 on charges of public order violations and obstruction of business.
Read more: Moment heroic headteacher tackles school shooter saving students from ‘Columbine-style’ attack
Read more: Nine people killed in second Turkish school shooting in two days
An American YouTuber has been sentenced to six months in a South Korean prison for kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves during World War Two.
Johnny Somali, 25, sparked outrage when he performed a series provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan for his Youtube and Twitch channels.
The content creator - whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael - was indicted by South Korean authorities in October 2024 on charges of public order violations and obstruction of business.
In one video, he kissed and twerked beside a statue named the "Statue of Peace" in Seoul, which honours the former Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery.
Somali also infuriated locals by causing disturbances on buses, subways and an amusement park, as well as vandalising a convenience store and playing obscene videos in public.
In some instances, he was chased and even physically assaulted by offended South Koreans.
After being banned from leaving the country by the authorities, Somali was sentenced to six months in prison by the Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday.
He was also barred from employment at institutions related to children for five years and taken into custody immediately.
Somali apologised for his actions, adding that he was “not aware of the significance of the statue”.
In 2023, the YouTuber caused similar consternation in neighbouring Japan for behaviour that included taunting subway commuters about Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the two cities devastated by US atomic bombs in 1945.