SEOUL, South Korea — A U.S. YouTube influencer known as Johnny Somali was sentenced to six months in prison in South Korea after he performed several provocative actions that offended officials.
Somali, 25, whose legal name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, was convicted on charges that included obstructing a business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content, The New York Times reported, citing the Yonhap News Agency.
“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 the BBC.
Somali, a self-proclaimed internet “troll,” specializes in producing “rage bait,” the Times reported. It is defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive.”
Somali has blasted music in public, yelling at strangers and vandalizing a business in Seoul, according to the newspaper.
He was widely condemned in South Korea in 2024 after he posted himself kissing the bronze monument in the South Korean capital known as the “Statue of Peace,” the Times reported.
The statue pays tribute to women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.
Somali, who was barred from leaving the country pending his trial, told reporters that he regretted his actions and wanted to apologize to the South Korean public, according to The Associated Press.
“I’m remorseful, I’m sorry for my crimes,” Somali during his court hearing on Wednesday, according to South Korean media.
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