A Seoul court will determine on Saturday whether to issue an arrest warrant for a 30-year-old man accused of assaulting and raping a woman on a hiking trail in Seoul earlier this week, police officials said.
The suspect surnamed Choi was put under police custody on Thursday shortly after he allegedly beat and raped the victim he randomly picked on a hillside trail in the Sillim district in southwestern Seoul at 12:10 p.m.
The woman was immediately transported to a hospital but remains unconscious.
Before attending the arrest warrant review process at the Seoul Central District Court on Saturday, the suspect said he was not influenced by a recent stabbing rampage in Bundang, south of Seoul, which killed one person and left dozens of people wounded.
Asked if it is true that the suspect argued he had attempted to rape the victim but failed, he said "yes" to reporters.
The suspect has told police that he wore brass knuckles on both hands and assaulted the victim, while admitting to assault and rape charges.
Alcohol and drug tests conducted on him were negative.
An inspection is under way into his medical and mobile phone records to determine whether he has medical history of mental illness.
Police are considering publicly releasing the suspect's name, age and photos in consideration of the gravity of his crime and conducting a psychopathy test on him. (Yonhap)
