Johnny Somali will face a trial in South Korea after being charged with obstruction of business for a chaotic convenience store stream.
Controversial streamer Johnny Somali’s antics in South Korea have finally caught up with him after escaping Japan and Israel with just a slap on the wrist.
Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, first arrived in Korea in September and immediately started causing drama. First, he was kicked off a subway and later sparked outrage by kissing the Statue of Peace – a monument to victims of sexual slavery.
However, while he may still face consequences for those streams, he’s instead been charged for a convenience store commotion earlier in his trip.
According to Korea JoongAng Daily, Somali was indicted without detention and charged with obstruction of business.
The incident in question is from October 17 and while it’s been scrubbed from Somali’s social media and streams, it’s been reuploaded to X.
The broadcast shows Somali playing loud music in a 7-Eleven, purposely spilling ramen, throwing noodles at the wall, and fighting with a female employee by shouting sexist comments at her.
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10/10 21:50泥酔しコンビニ店内で飲酒、大音量で音楽を流し踊る、ラーメンをぶちまける、最終的に女性客と口論になり警察に通報されるジョニーソマリ@JohnnySomaliX 昨年日本では同様の行為により業務妨害で起訴され有罪になった韓国でも逮捕はよ#JohnnySomali https://t.co/mbCf9wTIR5 pic.twitter.com/t162WhmT8o
— ジョニーリマソ (@canceljohnnys) October 10, 2024
Obstruction of business comes with a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
In addition, Somali is facing charges of alleged alleged drug use – something that comes with a maximum penalty of ten years in jail. The streamer is also not allowed to leave the country.
Somali could also be in trouble for deepfaking an AI girlfriend. In Korea, possessing sexual deepfakes of other individuals can result in up to seven years of jail time and a fine of around $22k USD.
These charges come as South Korean creators started targeting Somali directly and assaulted him on a handful of occasions.
While Somali has apologized for his actions, claiming he didn’t realize the importance of the Statue of Peace, many Koreans are doubting his sincerity given his history.
After his trial in Japan, Somali admitted to lying to the judge, claiming he wasn’t making any money streaming and was instead just filming “documentaries.”
