A man who attacked a police officer with a weapon in the southwestern city of Gwangju early Wednesday was killed after the officer opened fire. 

According to the police, the officer in his 50s, was stabbed by the man, also in his 50s, at around 3 a.m., in an alley of Gwangju's Geumnam street.

Three shots were fired while suppressing the man, who was sent to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

The police officer, who suffered stab wounds, is receiving treatment for injuries to the face and elsewhere.

The officers, including the injured officer, were dispatched to the scene after receiving an emergency call by a woman claiming she was being followed by a stranger.

While the man took out the weapon from a paper bag and began the attack when the officers stopped him, the officers reported firing live ammunition after they could not suppress the man with a taser and blank rounds.

The Gwangju police plan to conduct an autopsy and investigate if the circumstances necessitated the use of firearms.