Seoul shares trade lower in late morning trade

South Korean shares traded lower Friday morning as key blue chips continued to lose ground amid geopolitical concerns.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 11.35 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,137.26 as of 11:20 a.m.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics decreased 0.94 percent, and LG Electronics plunged 1.44 percent. LG Display shed 0.97 percent.

Chemical firms were also among the losers, with industry leader LG Chem decreasing 0.18 and No. 1 cosmetics maker AmorePacific falling 0.37 percent. S-Oil shed 0.85 percent.

The South Korean won was trading at 1,137.90 won against the US dollar, down 8.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)