SEOUL (AFP) – Controversial YouTuber and Twitch streamer Johnny Somali has been indicted for “causing a commotion” at a convenience store in South Korea, prosecutors said yesterday.
They said American national Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, is not allowed to leave South Korea because of a travel ban linked to the case.
“He was indicted on Monday without detention for creating a commotion at a convenience store in October,” a spokesman for the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office told AFP.
A convenience store employee reported Somali to the police on October 17 when he confronted a worker after being told not to drink inside the store.
He is also accused of making sexist remarks towards the worker. Somali has dominated headlines in the country for a series of stunts. The incident, which appeared in a now-removed video on his YouTube channel, drew strong backlash and condemnation.
He later issued an apology.
“I want to apologise to the Korean people. I was not aware of the significance of the statue… It was just an entertainment for my audience,” he said in a video posted online.
Somali also caused controversy in neighbouring Japan for his behaviour, including taunting subway commuters about Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
