South Korean stocks traded 0.71 percent higher late Monday morning, as tech firms and shipbuilders widened gains, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.20 points to 1,884.61 as of 11:20 a.m.
Market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.3 percent, with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's biggest shipyard, spiking nearly 5 percent.
But NHN Corp., the country's top Internet portal operator, lost 0.7 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,118.80 won against the greenback, up 2.9 won from Friday's close. (Yonhap News)
