SEOUL, April 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's special counsel on Monday sought a 10-year prison sentence in the appeals court for former President Yoon Suk-yeol on arrest obstruction charges.

Yoon Suk-yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the constitutional court in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 20, 2025. (File photo: Xinhua)

The team of Cho Eun-suk, an independent counsel who led investigations into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, demanded the 10-year prison term in appeal after requesting the same sentence in the first instance.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to five years in prison in January, half of the requested term.

Yoon was charged with abusing the presidential security service to hinder the anti-corruption agency from executing its arrest warrant in January 2025.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was once thwarted in its attempt to arrest Yoon as the presidential security service formed human shields and bus blockades to prevent investigators from entering the presidential residence.

The impeached South Korean leader was sentenced to life in prison in February on charges of insurrection stemming from his martial law declaration.

The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April 2025, officially removing him from office.

He was indicted under detention in January 2025 as a suspected ringleader of the insurrection, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.