S. Korea's special counsel seeks 10-year prison sentence for ex-president Yoon on charges of arrest obstruction: media

SEOUL -- A South Korean special counsel sought a 10-year prison sentence for former impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol on charges including obstructing attempts to arrest him, multiple local media said Friday.

The independent counsel, Cho Eun-suk, who led investigations into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, demanded the 10-year prison term on charges including mobilizing the presidential security service to obstruct the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in January.

The CIO's attempt to arrest Yoon was thwarted once as the presidential security service used human shields and bus barricades to prevent investigators from entering the presidential residence.

The criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court hearing the case of Yoon's obstruction of special public duties planned to deliver its ruling on Jan. 16 next year.

The court had reviewed charges such as Yoon's arrest obstruction, his order to delete encrypted phone records and the spread of false public announcements related to martial law.

The constitutional court upheld Yoon's impeachment on April 4 over his botched martial law bid last December, officially removing him from office.