Summary
- Former YouTube streamer Johnny Somali faces increased jail time in South Korea due to potential new charges.
- Confiscation of Somali’s phone by South Korean authorities due to deepfake concerns could lead to serious legal consequences.
- If found guilty of current charges, Somali could face up to 22 years in jail, showcasing the severity of his legal situation in South Korea.
Former YouTube streamer Johnny Somali is in more hot water, with the potential for even more jail time in South Korea. The streamer, who has been banned on YouTube, Kick, and Twitch, has been in South Korea since September, and likely won’t be leaving anytime soon, even if he manages to somehow be acquitted of all charges.
Ramsey Khalid Ismael, aka Johnny Somali, is a streamer whose antics are well-known, as he has drummed up a reputation for agitating the locals when he travels abroad. In Tel Aviv, Somali’s behavior led to a 50-day travel ban preventing him from returning. Similar things occurred in Japan, where Somali obstructed business and went around shouting things like “Fukushima” at the locals, also resulting in a Japan travel ban. However, his early presumptions that he’d only face the same in South Korea seems to be dissolving.
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According to Legal Mindset, who has been following the case in South Korea, Johnny Somali’s phone has now been confiscated by South Korean authorities. Legal Mindset claims Somali is “very fearful,” as he previously broadcast what appeared to be an AI deepfake image of him kissing a Korean streamer. While the streamer, Bongbong, declined to press charges, South Korea may nonetheless be investigating his phone for further evidence. AI deepfakes were recently outlawed in South Korea.
What Happens if Johnny Somali Has Deepfakes on His Phone?
South Korea’s new anti-deepfake law that passed in September means that anyone who so much as possesses deepfakes in the country could be subject to seven years in jail and a $22,000 USD fine. Distributing deepfakes, as he did via his broadcasting the image, “makes it worse.” LM states that legal experts in Korea that he’s communicated with have said that Somali’s phone likely wouldn’t have been taken unless additional charges were being “seriously investigated” against him.
Prior to this revelation, Somali was already facing a potentially long jail stay if found guilty of charges against him. Obstruction of business, the initial charge, can carry a five-year jail sentence, while drug possession – which he was being investigated for – could carry a decade-long sentence. If all three were combined, he could be facing up to 22 years in South Korean prisons – a far cry from the punishment he’s received elsewhere for his activities.
In any case, the outcome of his trial won’t be known for some time yet. Somali’s trial hs been pushed back to March 2025 from its original December date. Legal Mindset has previously said that trials in South Korea often take a minimum of a month, so it may be mid-2025 or later before Somali knows what his fate will be.