AdvertisementAdvertisementEast AsiaSouth Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb 11, 2025. (File photo: Pool via AP)29 Apr 2026 04:27PM Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST SEOUL: A South Korean appeals court increased the sentence of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday (Apr 29) to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years.A lower court had handed Yoon the initial sentence in January after he was found to have used presidential security agents to block his own arrest.Both Yoon and the prosecution lodged appeals - he argued that the arrest warrants against him were based on an "unlawful investigation", while special prosecutors said his punishment should be 10 years given his "egregious" crimes."The court sentences the defendant to seven years in prison," a judge at the Seoul High Court said on Wednesday, calling Yoon's actions "highly reprehensible".Show MoreShow Less"The defendant not only sought to obstruct the lawful execution of warrants by prosecutors and others," he said in his verdict."(He) also issued unlawful instructions to public officials of the presidential security service, who are national civil servants, attempting to use them as if they were private guards for his personal protection."South Korea prosecutors seek 30 years for Yoon over drone flights into NorthSouth Korea appeals court hikes ex-first lady's graft sentenceYoon, who appeared in court wearing a black suit and white shirt, showed little emotion as he listened to the verdict.The appeals court also upheld his conviction for abuse of power for excluding Cabinet members from a meeting to plan the imposition of martial law.It overturned his acquittal by a lower court of abuse of power for ordering his defence of the martial law declaration to be distributed to foreign media.And it upheld the lower court's conclusion that Yoon had prepared falsified documents, but had not actually used them.As it happened: Former South Korea leader Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to life in prison for insurrectionLIFE SENTENCEYoon is also serving a life sentence for the much more serious crime of leading an insurrection, a result of his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.In December that year, he made a shock late-night national televised address, raising the spectre of North Korean influence and "anti-state forces" to declare the suspension of civilian rule.But martial law lasted only about six hours as lawmakers raced to the assembly building and voted it down in an emergency session.In subsequent months, Yoon was impeached, removed from power and put on trial over a litany of allegations connected to his proclamation.He has also appealed against his insurrection conviction, saying he acted "solely for the sake of the nation".‘Democracy is working’: Analysts say Yoon conviction proves strength of South Korea’s institutionsLEGAL HEADACHESIn addition, Yoon faces a separate trial on charges of aiding the enemy over allegations that he sent military drones into North Korea earlier in 2024.Special prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence in that case, arguing that Yoon ordered the incursion to provoke a response from Pyongyang that would strengthen his pretext for declaring martial law.Yoon's legal team have denied the charge, saying he gave "no prior order or subsequent approval" for the operation cited by prosecutors.Yoon's wife, former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, is also languishing in prison for unrelated corruption crimes.Initially sentenced in January to 20 months for bribery, her penalty was increased to four years on Tuesday after an appeals court reversed her acquittal for stock price manipulation.Lawyers for Kim told AFP they would appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.Source: AFP/rlNewsletterWeek in ReviewSubscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in ReviewOur chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.NewsletterMorning BriefSubscribe to CNA’s Morning BriefAn automated curation of our top stories to start your day.Sign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST