Seoul court upholds 6-month prison sentence for US streamer Johnny Somali

American YouTuber Johnny Somali appears for his sentencing hearing at Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, Seoul, April 22. Yonhap

A Seoul appeals court upheld a six-month prison sentence Thursday for American YouTuber Johnny Somali, rejecting appeals by both prosecutors and the defendant in a case involving disruptive public acts and sexually explicit deepfakes.

The Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 1 maintained the lower court's sentence of six months in prison and 20 days of detention for the streamer, whose legal name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael. However, the court set aside an earlier order to confiscate a mobile phone used in the crimes, stating the confiscation lacked legal grounds.

Somali faced charges including interfering with business operations and distributing sexually explicit deepfakes under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

The content creator drew widespread public anger after kissing the Statue of Peace, a memorial to victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

American YouTuber Johnny Somali kisses a statue symbolizing Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery in Seoul's Yongsan District, Oct. 9, 2024. Captured from Johnny Somali's YouTube

The formal charges stemmed partly from an October 2024 incident at a convenience store in Seoul's Mapo District. He played loud music and spilled cup noodle broth on a table, disrupting business. He was also accused of repeatedly causing disturbances on buses and subways and approaching pedestrians with foul-smelling objects.

Prosecutors additionally charged him with creating and distributing nonconsensual deepfake videos that combined male and female faces.

The lower court sentenced him in April, handing down a five-year ban on working with minors and disabled individuals. The lower court judge noted that the streamer showed a serious disregard for the law by repeatedly committing crimes against random victims and broadcasting the acts. He was taken into custody at the time.

YouTuber Johnny Somali apologizes in front of the Statue of Peace. Captured from the J Company YouTube channel

At a June 11 appellate hearing, his lawyer asked for leniency, saying the defendant admitted to all the charges and regretted his actions. The defense lawyer also said Somali had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the United States and took medication there, but was unable to do so after entering Korea. The appeals court rejected the plea.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.