Johnny Somali pleads guilty in South Korean court after showing up late and hung over
Parti/JohnnySomaliControversial streamer Johnny Somali finally made his long-awaited court appearance after terrorizing South Korea and pled guilty to the charges he knew about.
On March 7, 2025, Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, showed up to court an hour late, wearing an oversized suit and a MAGA hat, which he was asked to remove multiple times.
According to YouTube lawyer Legal Mindset, Somali, who has been staying with his streamer roommate Hank Yoo, pled guilty to Obstruction of Business and two counts of violating the minor crimes act.
However, Somali reportedly had no idea about the additional obstruction of business charge filed against him and moved to push his next court date to April 9.
Johnny Somali shows up to court hung over
Somali had planned to stream the trial on Parti, which would have found him to be in contempt of court.
Going live on the app the day before the trial, he claimed he had a deal in the works to stream his court appearance.
“It’s time for a redemption arc,” he said. “I’m gonna try to be a better man. The trial is live tomorrow and I will be live-streaming the trial.”
Just hours before the start of the trial, Somali went live on Parti again and got hammered to the point of throwing up in his friend’s apartment.
For months, Somali wreaked havoc across South Korea with nuisance streams that royally upset both the country’s politicians and citizens, including a former member of the Korean Special Forces who KO’d the streamer in a must-see video.
In Fall 2024, Ismael sparked outrage across South Korea after he kissed the Statue of Peace, a monument meant to memorialize South Korean victims of sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II.
This incident was even referenced during an October 30 meeting in the country’s parliament and shortly thereafter, the police came down heavy on the streamer.
YouTubeHis broadcasts had given police a lot to work with and had hammered him with an assortment of charges. The first Obstruction of Business charge was in relation to the chaos he caused in a 7-Eleven,
His two Minor Crimes Act charges are for allegedly harassing people with a dead fish and putting it in their faces while the other was for a “twerking” incident on the subway.
Obstruction of business can carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail, so it’s possible that Ismael ends up being sentenced to ten years behind bars, depending on how the trial plays out.
In addition to the current charges against him, Somali’s controversial broadcasts have featured a ton of other incidents that could result in even more charges being filed down the line.
Thus far, he’s been accused of violating anti-terrorism laws, threatening to sexually assault female streamers, drug use, creating AI deepfakes of other creators, violating the Railroad Act and even spreading North Korean propaganda.
Prior to his South Korean trip, Ismael had been kicked out of Japan for similar antics and later admitted to lying in Japanese court about not making money with his broadcasts.
