Korean YouTuber arrested for latest assault on U.S. streamer Johnny Somali

A Korean YouTuber was arrested by police on Thursday after assaulting Johnny Somali, a U.S. YouTuber known for his provocative content.

Screen capture of Johnny Somali's video uploaded on Oct. 17. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A Korean YouTuber was arrested by police on Thursday after assaulting Johnny Somali, a U.S. YouTuber known for his provocative content.

According to Seoul Songpa Police Precinct on Thursday, YouTuber Yoo Dal-geun was arrested for assaulting Johnny Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, on a street in Songpa District, southern Seoul. Yoo is known for being a former Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) soldier.

Police were dispatched to the scene after receiving reports of an incident at approximately 9:30 a.m. Ismael was treated for contusions. Ismael also has a complaint of alleged assault and drug use filed against him.

Ismael is facing backlash for performing offensive acts in public during his travels in Korea over the past month during his YouTube live broadcasts.

On Oct. 9, he uploaded a video of himself kissing the Statue of Peace in Itaewon, Yongsan District, central Seoul, and performing a lewd dance in front of the monument.

The statue represents the tens of thousands of young women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule over Korea. These wartime sexual slavery victims are euphemistically referred to as "comfort women."

Screen capture of Johnny Somali's video uploaded on Oct. 9. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Ismael's YouTube channel was deleted on Monday after it began streaming pornography. The YouTuber claimed on social media platform X that his channel was hacked on the same day.

The deletion prompted Ismael to post a selfie holding a photo of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his now-deleted backup channel, “Johnny Somali Live,” along with the caption, “Shinzo Abe! I Defeated The Koreans For You.”

Abe, who was assassinated in Japan while campaigning in 2022, was known for his hawkish attitude toward Korea, including denying that the Japanese government forced Korean women into wartime sexual slavery.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo makes a campaign speech in Nara, western Japan, shortly before he was shot dead on July 8, 2022. [AP/YONHAP]

Ismael has posted other controversial content as well, including sexually harassing women and making racist remarks to passing pedestrians. In one instance, Ismael's companion streamer, Jino, suggested performing oral sex acts on a passing woman.

As his actions escalated, criticism mounted, with other YouTubers and online communities calling for him to be held accountable.

Ismael was eventually struck in the face by a man while livestreaming on Oct. 24 and kicked by another during a broadcast with his Korean acquaintance, Yoo Heon-jong, on Sunday.

Yoo Heon-jong was previously sentenced to 97 months in jail in the United States after being charged with firearms violations in 2019. He is known in U.S. online communities as “Texas Asian Nazi.”

Screen capture of Johnny Somali's video uploaded on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Ismael was also referred to as a “golden goblin” in Korean online communities, which is a meme stemming from the phenomenon that any content covering the YouTuber automatically leads to many views.

Comments are polarized, with many describing Yoo Dal-geun's act as "heroic" and "dispensing justice," and some others pointing out that YouTubers are engaging with Ismael purely for profiteering.

According to local media reports, one martial arts YouTuber offered a two million won ($1,500) reward for information on Ismael’s location.

In an unrelated incident, on Sept. 22, a man in his 30s fleeing from a vigilante YouTuber tracking suspected drunk drivers died after crashing into a trailer in Gwangju. The vigilante was following the driver and livestreaming the chase after reporting the suspected drunk driver to police.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]