Controversial American YouTuber and streamer Johnny Somali is facing up to 10 years of prison in South Korea.
Authorities have prevented him from leaving the country amidst an ongoing investigation into drug and assault charges, according to The Korean Herald.
Somali, aka Ramsey Khalid Ismael, has gained notoriety online for live streaming himself being a public nuisance in different countries. His previous behavior in Japan and Israel resulted in arrests and travel bans. As mentioned by Dexerto, Ismael’s Kick account has also been suspended for his content.
According to a spokesperson at the Seoul Mapo Police Station, Ismael was under investigation for an incident at a convenience store in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Oct. 17. There, it was reported that Ismael began pouring instant noodles on a table after an employee stopped him from drinking alcohol.
Police said that they would investigation allegations of drug use after a report made through the 112 emergency hotline.
Another incident that drew considerable attention happened on Oct. 9, when Ismael uploaded a video of himself kissing and twerking on the Statue of Peace in Itaewon, Seoul, and later returning the following week to pour baby oil on it. The Statue of Peace represents the thousands of comfort women, women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during Japanese colonial rule.
In response to his antics, locals attacked Ismael while he was streaming on Oct. 24 and 27, which resulted in Ismael seeking hospital treatment, according to MustShareNews. One Korean martial arts YouTuber even offered a ₩2 million ($1,500) reward for information about Ismael’s wherabaouts, according to Korea JoongAn Daily. South Korean police would eventually arrest Ismael for his own safety.
As mentioned by Korea JoongAn Daily, Ismael was forced to issue an apology on Nov. 7, by a group of people forcibly escorted Ismael out of a car in Dobong District to another Statue of Peace.
In a YouTube video, Ismael said “I just want to apologize for what I have done, and my behaviors did not mean to hurt Koreans’ pride this much,”.
“I am a young person who wants to grow as a man. When people make mistakes in life, they should own up to it. I will no longer talk about or touch the statue again”, Ismael continued, saying that people “could get past the situation and use the incident as a learning situation”.
He also brought up the different comedy cultures in the U.S. and South Korea, saying “In America, we have different kinds of comedy and culture”, and that Korea is a “totally different kind of place where this kind of behavior is unacceptable”.
However, considering his track record, viewers and other content creators criticized Ismael’s apology, saying that his actions “do not represent Koreans” and “have no authority to demand or accept apologies.”
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