Korean Navy SEAL thanks Donut Operator for paying off $7K fine over Johnny Somali beating
A South Korean special forces soldier has responded after YouTuber ‘Donut Operator’ paid the remainder of the $7K fine he’d incurred after physically assaulting infamous nuisance streamer Johnny Somali.
Johnny Somali is a name that’s become synonymous with influencers who exhibit bad behavior while making content abroad.
After getting intolegal trouble in JapanandIsrael, Somali traveled to South Korea in 2024, where he quickly racked up an ever-growing collection of criminal charges for violations likedisrupting local businesses, creating adeepfake of a Korean streamerto make it seem like she was kissing him, and even behavinginappropriately with the Statue of Peace, a monument tovictims of sexual slaveryby Japanese forces in WWII.
In retaliation, a former South Korean Navy SEAL andYouTubernamed Dalgeun Yu tracked down Somali and hit him with asingle punch to the headbefore being pulled away, saying he “just did what I had to do as a Korean citizen.”
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As a result, Yu was hit with a10 million won fine(equal to about $7,000 USD) — but a good Samaritan came to the rescue so he didn’t have to empty his pockets.
Yu had already crowdfunded $3K from sympathetic viewers when, on August 19, 2025, YouTuber Donut Operator revealed that he’dpaid the remainder of Yu’s $7K fine, sharing a PayPal screenshot of a $4K transaction to the former SEAL.
Y’all thought I was jokinghttps://t.co/RDZsGMqNmNpic.twitter.com/GLVrpAsFQo
A day later, Yu published a thank-you message to Donut Operator in aYouTube community post, revealing that he’d been given four additional legal punishments on top of his fine for punching Somali.
South Korean SEAL is still facing additional charges for Johnny Somali assault
Yu claimed that Somali is attempting to extort money from him by filing civil lawsuits against him — but is able to live a life of “gratitude” thanks to everyone’s generosity.
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“Thank you very much, Donut Operator,” Yu wrote. “I respect him and thank you very much for helping me. …I have about four more punishments for intimidation and stalking. They also aim to extort money from me by filing additional civil suits, and now Somali and Hank have no money.
“I am also living a life of gratitude to everyone who helped me after the Somali assault, and I am also living a life of helping others. Thanks to you, I have been able to grow to this point and I am always living a life of gratitude every day. Thank you again Donut Operator, and thank you to all the Koreans who helped me.”
Somali has made similar claims in various posts on X, sharing screenshots of messages allegedly from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Korea and accusing Yu of being a “coward” who “sucker punch[ed] me in the back of the head for clout.”
For now, Somali is awaiting his second court date on August 22, 2025, after showing up late, hungover, and wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat to his initial hearing in March.
