1 week ago
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Controversial streamer Johnny Somali may be trying to leave South Korea despite being banned from leaving the country and facing a lengthy prison sentence.
Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, has become one of the most notorious content creators on the net and he appears to be trying to run from the law in Korea.
The banned Kick streamer first gained notoriety when he caused chaos in Japan, but was let off the hook with just a fine. He then brought his broadcasts to Israel where he once escaped without consequence for harassing a female police officer.
Now, Somali has made his way to South Korea where he continued his antics. However, the country isn’t playing around. Korean streamers have frequently targeted Somali and assaulted him while law enforcement has been monitoring him.
So far, Ismael has been charged with obstruction of business for an incident inside a 7-Eleven and the authorities are investigating alleged drug use too, a crime that comes with a maximum penalty of ten years in Korea.
He could also be facing additional jail time for using deepfake AI to depict himself kissing Korean streamer bongbong.
Somali was barred from leaving South Korea for his alleged crimes, but on November 12, he posted a video to TikTok bragging about having an emergency passport.
In the clip, Somali danced around holding a purple emergency passport while flipping off the camera.
US Embassays can issue emergency passports in the event a citizen’s previous one was lost, stolen, or damaged.
It’s not clear when he obtained this passport, but as X user ‘canceljohnnys,’ who has been monitoring the streamer since his chaos in Japan, points out, it could be the same one he received in Israel.
“Johnny Somali was unable to pay his hotel bill in Israel and had his passport taken away, so he was issued an emergency passport,” he explained.
Of course, with Johnny currently banned from leaving Korea, it’s unlikely that even an emergency passport will save him. It’s also unknown if or when he might try to board a flight.
One day after his passport video, Somali posted a clip to Instagram from his 7-Eleven broadcast that resulted in obstruction of business charges. However, in this video, he is seen cleaning up a mess in the store instead of making one.
“I am innocent. The Korean government and media is corrupt,” Somali captioned the post. “I am the OJ Simpson of Asia.”
While it appears that Ismael will be pleading innocent, we’ll have to see what his defense is once the streamer makes his first, in what could be many, South Korean court appearances.
English (US) ·