In the video that went viral online, the man threateningly follows the woman, hurling insults. The video accompanied multiple photos of the man allegedly beating the woman.

The woman reportedly said the man began threatening her near the university district of Hongdae in western Seoul when she ignored him as he followed her.

Police said they began looking into the case after receiving a report that a video of a South Korean man assaulting a Japanese woman is circulating online.

The incident took place amid escalating tensions between South Korea and Japan following Tokyo's export restrictions on South Korea in apparent retaliation against Seoul's top court rulings on wartime forced labor.

South Korea on Thursday announced its decision to withdraw from a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, citing a "grave change" in security cooperation conditions between the two countries. (Yonhap)