South Korea jails US streamer for public nuisance

SEOUL

An American YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison for public nuisance and other offences, a court in Seoul said on April 15.

Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

South Korean authorities indicted Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business and banned him from leaving the country.

"The court has sentenced him to six months in prison," a representative of the Seoul Western District Court told AFP when asked about Somali's case on Wednesday.

The court said in a later statement that his charges included violating the Minor Offences Act, which covers a wide variety of public order crimes, obstruction of business, and distribution of false video content.

In October 2024, Somali uploaded a video of himself kissing and twerking beside the statue, causing strong public backlash and condemnation, and the clip was later removed.

Somali apologized at the time, saying he was "not aware of the significance of the statue."