Lawyer reveals devastating Johnny Somali trial update with more charges coming

A lawyer has revealed new information about Johnny Somali’s ongoing legal issues in South Korea and shared some bad news for the controversial streamer.

Johnny Somali has been raising hell in South Korea for months now, with the creator being charged with obstruction of business after a chaotic 7-Eleven broadcast.

Although he’s only been charged with one crime so far, he’s being investigated for multiple other allegations including violating the country’s anti-terrorism laws, drug use, creating AI deepfakes of streamers, assault, and even spreading North Korean propaganda.

Now, according to YouTube lawyer Legal Mindset, Somali could be trapped in South Korea for a long time after learning details about the cases against him.

Johnny Somali’s first trial could last months

Legal Mindset says that as of November 18, Somali has requested a public defender – but a prosecutor with an over 90% win rate for obstruction of business has been assigned to his trial.

To make things worse for Johnny, the first hearing for the trial will be in December 2024, likely right before the holidays.

While it’s possible that Johnny could come into the trial and plead guilty, Legal Mindset believes he would be “speed running his jail arc,” but this court case could really take a toll on the streamer.

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“The normal course of a trial is short opening statements, about two to four hearings, and then verdict day. That takes up to six months. So, we’re looking at next summer. We’re looking at Johnny banned from leaving Korea until next summer,” he explained.

This is bad news for Johnny, because while he’s in Korea, he’s not able to make money streaming.

South Korea prepares more charges for Johnny Somali

The lawyer was also able to confirm that more criminal charges are scheduled to be filed against Johnny by late November or early December.

Legal Mindset further added that Somali could even be facing more counts of his established allegations.

For example, he could be looking at yet another obstruction of business charge for shutting down a ride in an amusement park, because he was allegedly spamming sexual things around children.

Thus far, with only one charge in the trial phase, the maximum he’s looking at right now is five years behind bars – but with so many investigations being launched, that number could increase significantly.

For his part, Somali has remained confident that he will be able to return to the United States to continue his streaming career and avoid jail time, but we’ll have to see what happens once his trial kicks off.