South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on gains in construction firms and mobile carriers, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.01 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,967.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Builders traded bullish, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction rising 0.49 percent and Daelim Industrial moving up 1.9 percent. Daewoo Engineering & Construction added 1.54 percent.

Mobile carriers also gathered ground, with No. 1 SK Telecom adding 0.46 percent and KT rising 0.27 percent. LG Uplus, the smallest player, advanced 0.8 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,088.60 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 4.40 won from Friday's close. (Yonhap News)