South Korea jails U.S. streamer Johnny Somali for public nuisance

American YouTuber Johnny Somali speaks to reporters as he arrives at the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Choi Jae-koo/Yonhap via AP)

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 Wednesday.

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.

Somali previously built a viral internet following while engaging in disruptive acts such as spilling cup noodle soup on a table at a Seoul convenience store and playing loud North Korean music in public.

Somali issued an apology on his way into the courtroom on Wednesday, with local media reporting that he said: “I am remorseful... I want to apologize to the people of Korea. And I want to change my life and become a better person.”

The court said his case had not included any charges related to insulting a statue memorializing Korean “comfort women” -- those forced into sexual slavery by Japanese occupying forces before and during World War II.

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”.

But attitudes towards him remained unforgiving, and he was sometimes chased and even physically assaulted by offended South Koreans, according to reports.

In 2023, Somali caused consternation in neighbouring Japan for behaviour including taunting subway commuters about Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the two cities devastated by US atomic bombs in 1945.