South Korean stocks retreated on Friday, led by institutional sell-offs. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 13.95 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,969.27 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 676 million shares worth some 12.4 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 608 to 269.

Institutions sold a net 446 billion won, while retail investors purchased 388 billion won. Foreigners bought a net 41 billion won.

After a choppy start, most large caps increasingly lost ground, particularly marked by losses in financial, steel and chemical heavyweights.

"Stocks related to China seem to have performed weak on worries about possibilities of Chinese stagflation," Samsung Securities analyst Jeong Myung-ji said.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics decreased 0.57 percent to 70,200 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.94 percent to 107,000 won. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, added 0.47 percent to 215,000 won.

Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics slipped 0.12 percent to 864,000 won, financial top cap Kakao Bank shed 4.67 percent to 57,200 won, and steelmaker Posco retreated 4.2 percent to 285,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,185.2 won against the US dollar, down 2.6 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)