Investigators in South Korea have reportedly opened up yet another investigation into streamer Johnny Somali as he’s on trial for numerous charges.
Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, is on trial in South Korea for a series of on-stream antics in the Asian country.
The American content creator, who rose to infamy in 2024 on Kick when he terrorized Japan and Israel with his behavior during broadcasts, and continued the mayhem when he visited Korea.
Unlike Japan and Israel, however, South Korea is throwing the book at him. Of his charges, Ismael is looking at a maximum of 36 years behind bars. So far, he’s pled guilty to three Obstruction of Business charges and two counts of violating the minor crimes act. He also pled not guilty to a couple of deepfake charges.
On June 17, YouTuber Legal Mindset, who has been covering information about the Somali case, revealed that there is now another investigation into Somali that could put him behind bars for even longer.
Johnny Somali could be in jail for 46 years
According to Legal Mindset, this new investigation began after a criminal complaint was made against Somali.
The investigation is in regard to an alleged violation of the child welfare act, something Somali was investigated for before.
On September 30, Somali streamed from the theme park Lotte World and played text-to-speech claiming he wanted to engage in inappropriate acts with children.
“They did indeed decide not to bring this to trial,” Legal Mindset said. “But at that point they didn’t have all the information. They didn’t have all the evidence.”
Now, however, it would seem like things have changed. Ismael’s alleged actions could be in violation of Article 17 of the child welfare act which includes, “Committing sexual harassment against a child that may make him or her feel sexually ashamed.”
The consequences for such actions, if guilty, is a maximim of 10 years imprisonment with labor or a fine of up to 50M Won ($36,200 USD).
Not only that, but Legal Mindset also said there could be multiple counts of violating the child welfare act, so the punishment could be even more severe.
If Ismael ends up being charged, it would add at least ten more years to his maximum sentence, pushing it to 46 years total.
Somali’s next trial date is scheduled for August 13, 2025 and will be a full day of testimony.
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