SEOUL, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The sentence for former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was increased to seven years on Wednesday on appeal for obstruction of arrest, according to the rule of the Seoul High Court.

The court overturned the lower court's ruling, lengthening Yoon's prison term from five to seven years.

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

Following the second-instance ruling, Yoon's legal team said that it will appeal to the Supreme Court, according to reports.

The appellate court explained that blocking the first attempt to arrest Yoon constituted abuse of power and special obstruction of official duties, saying that blocking the second arrest attempt also constituted abuse of power.

It recognized that the execution of the first arrest warrant for Yoon was lawful, while the search warrant for the presidential residence was lawfully executed.

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 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 now impeached leader was found guilty of abetting violation of the presidential security act by ordering the deletion of encrypted phone records and also convicted of drafting and destroying the post-facto martial law proclamation.

The court overturned the initial acquittals, ruling that Yoon violated the deliberation rights of nine cabinet members by excluding them from a cabinet meeting to justify the martial law declaration.

He was also convicted of ordering the dissemination of false information to foreign media that denied any intention to disrupt the constitutional order.

Yoon was sentenced to life in prison in February for 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The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.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. ■