The Seoul Central District Court will soon hold an arrest warrant hearing for a 30 year-old man on charges of attempted rape, the police said Friday.

The suspect allegedly followed the victim, who was on her way home, at around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday in Sillim-dong, southwestern Seoul.

An 80-second CCTV footage of the man following the victim to her apartment, and attempting to open the door instantly went viral on social media.

The chilling footage showed the man shaking the door knob even after the door was shut and wandering around in the corridor for about a minute.

The man was arrested without a warrant after he turned himself in at around 7 a.m.

The police initially charged the suspect with trespassing, saying “there needs to have been physical attack or threats to charge him for attempted rape, which is difficult to confirm with the CCTV footage.”

Source: Yonhap

Calling for stricter punishment, a Cheong Wa Dae online petition post had garnered some 77,000 signatures as of Friday.

In the face of a public backlash, the police changed its stance and accused the suspect of attempted rape citing the Act on Special Cases concerning the punishment of sexual crimes, sparking concerns about the police’s handling of the case.

“Based on attempts to forcefully open the victim’s front door along with a series of actions, attempted home invasion and rape can be recognized,” the police said.

Source: Korea Herald