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Thursday, December 26, 2024  
24 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

South Korea bans YouTuber Johnny Somali from entering country

Somali has gained notoriety in South Korea for his provocative antics
Photo via South China Morning Post
Photo via South China Morning Post

American YouTuber and Twitch streamer Johnny Somali has been banned from traveling to South Korea following an incident at a convenience store in October.

Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, was “indicted without detention” on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the southern district prosecutor’s office in Seoul.

The 24-year-old allegedly clashed with a convenience store employee who advised him against consuming alcohol on the premises and reportedly made sexist remarks. The employee filed a police report on October 17.

Somali has gained notoriety in South Korea for his provocative antics, including kissing and twerking near a statue commemorating Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery during a visit to Changdong History and Culture Park in Seoul.

After facing significant backlash for that stunt, he issued an apology. “I want to apologize to Koreans. I didn’t understand the significance of the statue,” he said in a YouTube video, as reported by The Korea Times. He asserted that his intention was to entertain his American audience but acknowledged that his actions were disrespectful. “I’m truly sorry,” he added in Korean.

However, many online commentators questioned the sincerity of Somali’s apology. Some referred to an Instagram post where he was seen holding an image of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, captioned, “RIP Shinzo Abe, I defeated the Koreans for you!”

Though he later deleted the YouTube video, the Instagram post remained up.

On Tuesday, Somali shared a video on Instagram where he waved his passport at the camera while making an offensive gesture. The video was captioned, “Free Johnny.”

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Johnny Somali