April 16, 2026
SEOUL – Controversial American YouTuber Johnny Somali was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday by a South Korean court, upon being found guilty of a string of offenses including public nuisance and distributing artificial intelligence-generated sexual content.
The Seoul Western District Court said the 25-year-old, indicted in November 2024, created repeated disturbances in public, including playing North Korean music and its national anthem loudly and spilling cup noodles at a convenience store in Seoul.
The trial, initially scheduled for March 2025, was delayed as prosecutors added charges that he distributed a deepfake sexual video featuring himself and a local female YouTuber.
“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, adding that the evidence supported all charges. It cited the absence of severe harm to victims as a factor in sentencing.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term.
The court also ordered 20 days of detention. The defendant was taken into custody immediately after sentencing. He was additionally barred for five years from working at institutions serving minors and people with disabilities following his release.
Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Somali said he was remorseful and wanted to apologize to the people of Korea.
Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, is a self-described internet troll who gained notoriety in Korea for his provocative online content.
He posted videos of himself kissing and making sexually suggestive gestures toward a statue of a “comfort woman” — a euphemistic label for women forced into sex slavery by Japan during World War II — and was also seen making sexually abusive and racist remarks toward civilians.