South Korean stocks began lower Tuesday, led by a fall in large-cap exporters weighed down by a strong local currency, analysts said.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 1.84 points, or 0.09 percent to trade at 2,034.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.4 percent, with top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropping 1.4 percent. Chip giant SK hynix also fell about 0.5 percent.

Brokerage firms and telecom companies, however, got a lift, with Samsung Securities gaining 1 percent and top mobile carrier SK Telecom moving up more than 1 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,107.65 won against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 6.95 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap)