A photo posted by American YouTuber Johnny Somali on his YouTube account / Taken from YouTube

By KTimes

An American YouTuber infamous for stunts involving a statue of a girl symbolizing victims of wartime sex slavery in Japan has been attacked for the third time since arriving in Korea.

The attacker, a man in his 20s with experience in the South Korean Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), was arrested at the scene.

Johnny Somali, a 24-year-old YouTuber known for controversial actions such as kissing the statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery in Japan and often euphemistically referred to as “comfort women,” has been attacked again.

According to Songpa police in Seoul, the incident occurred on Thursday on a street in Songpa district, where the man, identified as A, approached Somali and asked, “Where are you going?” before abruptly punching him. Somali suffered only minor injuries.

Somali, who has about 20,000 subscribers, has sparked outrage in Korea with his provocative actions, including spilling instant noodles on grocery store tables and disrespecting the Girl Statue.

The anger of Korean netizens has made him the target of several YouTubers, and he was attacked twice in Mapo County on October 24th and 27th.

The attacker is also a YouTuber with around 8,000 subscribers and has posted videos identifying himself as a former UDT member and promising to “catch Johnny Somali.” Police responded to reports of a gathering of YouTubers and arrested him at the scene.

This article from Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and published by The Korea Times.