American YouTuber Johnny Somali, who has continuously caused controversies in South Korea by acts such as kissing the Statue of Peace and spilling ramen on the convenience store floor, has once again provoked public outrage with another provocative act.
On the 28th, Somali posted on his YouTube secondary account 'Johnny Somali Live' a photo holding a picture of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe along with the phrase, "Shinzo Abe, I defeated Koreans for you."
The photo was taken in front of a religious organization's building in Seoul, but Somali did not explain the reason for taking the photo there.
The post was uploaded after Somali's main account was shut down by Google. His main account had about 20,000 subscribers, but it is presumed that YouTube deleted it following numerous reports due to his repeated problematic behavior. On the day his channel disappeared, Somali wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "I am appealing the channel suspension," adding, "I think it was a mistake by Google, which manages YouTube." He also claimed, "There was unauthorized access due to hacking," as part of his appeal.
Previously, Somali sparked controversy by engaging in disruptive behavior across South Korea and sharing videos of these acts on his YouTube channel. Earlier this month, he posted a video mocking the Statue of Peace by kissing it, which caused public outrage. On the 17th, he filmed himself causing a disturbance in a convenience store by loudly shouting and deliberately spilling cup noodles. In another video, he pretended by mistake to play obscene material on the subway, and also played loud North Korean music on a bus.
On the night of the 24th, while live streaming on YouTube via his phone in Seoul, Somali was struck in the face by an unidentified man. The man took Somali’s phone, threw it far away, and then left the scene. The identity and motive of the man who assaulted Somali remain unknown.
Somali has reportedly caused multiple controversies not only in South Korea but also in Japan, where he was fined several times. He was prosecuted for obstructing business while broadcasting in a Japanese restaurant and fined 200,000 yen (approximately 1.83 million KRW). He was also arrested for trespassing at a construction site in Osaka. At Tokyo Disneyland, he caused controversy by playing music containing lyrics about the 'atomic bomb.'
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