Johnny Somali sentenced to six months with hard labor in South Korea over livestream antics

American YouTuber Johnny Somali has been sentenced to six months in prison and remanded in custody by a court after previously sparking outrage in South Korea with lewd behavior. In one of his streams he kissed a statue that symbolizes Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery.

According to Where Is The Buzz, the livestreamer’s prison term also includes hard labor after being convicted of all charges, including those related to deepfakes, described as the harshest punishment in Korean law. The outlet added that he will be deprived of any cell phone use during his sentence: “The prosecution sought three years of hard labor. Johnny will spend his time in a specialized labor camp where he will be deprived of any cell phone use and marked as a convict.”

As per Chosun Biz, Criminal Division 1's single-judge panel, Judge Park Gee-won of the Seoul Western District Court, sentenced Somali on the 15th of April (local time). He was charged with obstruction of business and distribution of fabricated sexual images under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, sentenced to six months in prison and 20 days of detention, and ordered a five-year employment ban at institutions related to children, teens, and people with disabilities.


According to the Korean news outlet, Somali is accused of disrupting business in October of last year at a convenience store in Seoul's Mapo District by blasting music and spilling a cup of noodle broth on a table. In the same month, he allegedly caused discomfort by carrying a foul-smelling bag of fish, approaching numerous passers-by on a Mapo street, and causing a commotion by boarding buses and subways while blasting music and dancing.

Somali filmed himself kissing the Statue of Peace and performing lewd dances on a YouTube livestream. He also performed antics such as waving the Rising Sun Flag and shouting "Takeshima" (the name Japan claims for Dokdo).

At the first hearing of the initial trial, Somali at one point appeared in a white suit wearing a red hat with the phrase "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), reported Chosun Biz. On February 27, prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence and a fine of 150,000 won for Somali during the sentencing hearing of the initial trial.