A 61-year-old woman who was stabbed by a Chinese man at a Catholic church in the country's resort island of Jeju earlier this week was pronounced dead Sunday, police said.

The 50-year-old man, identified only by his last name Chen, allegedly stabbed the Korean woman in the chest and abdomen while she was praying inside the church alone early on Saturday morning, according to the Jeju Seobu Police Station. The suspect was nabbed a few hours later some 40 kilometers away from the scene of the incident.

The 61-year-old victim was rushed to a nearby hospital as she called for help after the Chinese fled the scene, but she was pronounced dead earlier on Sunday.

The Chinese man entered the country as a tourist under the transit-without-visas program on Wednesday and was scheduled to leave next week, according to police.

Police said they are trying to investigate the motive behind the violent attack.

During the police interrogation, Chen said he came to have a deep hatred toward women after his first and second wives had extramarital affairs and then ran away, according to police.

Police said they are reviewing whether to change the criminal charges leveled at him from attempted murder to murder. (Yonhap)