SEOUL, South Korea — An American livestreamer who enraged South Korea by kissing a statue honoring girls compelled into wartime sexual slavery was jailed for six months Wednesday on public nuisance and different prices.
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Johnny Somali, 25, whose actual identify is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, had been barred from leaving South Korea since his indictment in 2024. On Wednesday, he was detained instantly after his sentencing on a spread of offenses that additionally included distributing sexual deepfakes, in accordance with the Seoul Western District Court docket.
The self-proclaimed web troll is finest identified for posting provocative movies on platforms together with YouTube and Twitch, a number of of which have banned him.
Throughout a go to to Seoul in 2024, Somali drew outrage when he posted a clip of himself kissing and making sexual gestures towards a statue commemorating the tens of hundreds of Korean girls who had been compelled into sexual slavery by Japanese forces throughout World Conflict II.
The difficulty is extraordinarily delicate in South Korea, a key U.S. ally in Asia that continues to demand an apology from Japan. A handful of those that had been enslaved, who’ve additionally been referred to euphemistically as “consolation girls,” are nonetheless alive.
Somali later apologized, saying he was unaware of the statue’s significance, and the clip was eliminated. However he continued to stir controversy in South Korea, with native media reporting he had been crushed up a number of instances.
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Somali was indicted over quite a few disruptive acts together with an allegation that he induced a “commotion” at a comfort retailer in Seoul. In keeping with the Korea Herald, he admitted to all prices at his first trial listening to final March.
Along with the jail time period, Somali was sentenced to an extra 20 days in detention and is barred from working with kids and folks with disabilities for 5 years.
“The defendant repeatedly dedicated crimes in opposition to unspecified members of the general public to generate revenue by way of YouTube and distributed the content material in disregard of Korean regulation,” the court docket stated.
Native media reported that Somali apologized for his actions earlier than getting into court docket Wednesday, and that his mom had submitted a petition for leniency final month. Prosecutors had sought three years in jail, however Somali acquired a lowered sentence as a result of “absence of extreme hurt to victims,” the Herald stated.
Whereas on trial final yr, Somali tried to enter the courtroom carrying a pink “MAGA” hat related to supporters of President Donald Trump however was stopped.
Throughout the incident, he stated that “Korea is a vassal state of the USA,” drawing backlash, in accordance with native stories.
4 months later, he was seen holding a Japanese Rising Solar flag, which is considered in South Korea as an emblem of Japanese imperialism, and making remarks that “Japan ought to reoccupy Korea.” He additionally proclaimed that “Dokdo belongs to Japan,” in reference to disputed islands that each nations declare as their very own, native stories stated.
Somali has repeatedly drawn controversy whereas touring outdoors the U.S., together with throughout a visit to Japan the place he taunted subway commuters concerning the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki throughout World Conflict II, which killed and maimed a whole lot of hundreds of individuals.
Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jay Ganglani from Hong Kong.
