South Korea jails American YouTuber over public nuisance offense

Kelly Ng Wednesday April 15, 2026

The outrage began with a kiss, but it ended with a jail sentence: American livestreamer Johnny Somali has been sentenced to six months behind bars after offending South Koreans by violating a statue that commemorates wartime sex slaves.

Seoul authorities charged him with public nuisance in November 2024 after he uploaded footage showing himself kissing and performing lap dances on the statue during a visit to South Korea. Since then, he has been barred from leaving the country.

The 25-year-old, whose real name is Ismael Ramsey Khalid, has built a reputation for provocative online stunts and has been banned from several streaming platforms.

He has also been accused of harassing people while travelling in Japan and Israel.

On Wednesday, a South Korean court found Khalid guilty on multiple counts, including public nuisance and distributing sexual deepfakes.

“The defendant repeatedly committed crimes against unspecified members of the public to generate profit via YouTube and distributed the content in disregard of Korean law,” the court said, according to South Korean media.

Prosecutors had asked for a three-year prison term, but judges imposed a lighter punishment, citing the “absence of severe harm to victims”, The Korea Herald reported.

Khalid was also told he will be barred from working with organisations serving minors and people with disabilities once he is released.

During World War Two, an estimated 200,000 women across Asia were forced to serve as wartime sex slaves for Japanese soldiers. Many were Korean, while others came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Across South Korea, activists have installed several statues, typically showing a young woman seated in a chair, to honour these “comfort women”. The memorials have repeatedly stirred diplomatic friction, as Seoul has long pressed Japan for reparations for the victims.

Khalid, who has about 5,000 YouTube followers, apologised in November 2024 and said he “didn’t understand the significance of the statue”. But many online users questioned whether the apology was sincere.

As the South Korean investigation continued, Khalid challenged locals to fight him. Social media videos show him being punched and chased through the streets.

Earlier, he had also sparked backlash on public transport, vandalised a convenience store and streamed obscene videos in public.

Earlier in 2024, Khalid was detained at a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, after making inappropriate remarks to a female police officer, though he was later released.

In Japan in 2023, he mocked locals with remarks that included comments on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final days of World War Two.

He was later fined 200,000 yen ($1,400) after using loud music to disrupt business in a restaurant.