A Seoul court sentenced American YouTuber Johnny Somali to 6 months in prison for his stunts.
American YouTuber Johnny Somali was sentenced to six months in prison for public disturbance in 2024 when he filmed himself kissing a statue commemorating wartime Korean sex slaves.
The South Korean authorities accused the Somali, whose real name is Ramzi Khaled Ismail, in 2024 of violating public order and obstructing business, and prevented him from leaving the country.In October 2024, the 25-year-old YouTuber posted several videos provoking South Koreans. He sang the North Korean national anthem, spilled noodles inside a convenience store, got into several heated fights with strangers and so on.
He then uploaded a video of himself kissing and having sex next to a statue commemorating Korean women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese occupation forces before and during World War II, who are referred to as “comfort women” in Japan.
As the incident sparked widespread violent reactions, the Somali apologized and said he was not aware of the statue’s significance. The trial, which was scheduled for March 2025, was postponed after prosecutors added additional charges alleging that Ismail shared sexual content generated by his artificial intelligence with a female YouTuber.
“The defendant repeatedly committed crimes against unspecified members of the public for profit through YouTube and distributed the content in disregard of Korean law,” the court said during the trial, noting that prosecutors had requested a three-year prison sentence.After being charged, Ismail reposted videos on his YouTube account of what he claimed was the reason for the charges against him.In a video posted in January titled “They want me in Korean prison for this…” Ismail recorded himself wearing a black robe and hood similar to those worn by a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and sparked several heated arguments.In his X biography, Ismail calls himself “a political prisoner in South Korea on trial for freedom of speech and expression.”