South Korean shares opened higher Monday on eased Brexit concerns following the killing of a British politician who objected to Britain's exit from the European Union.

Polls conducted after last week's murder of Labor politician Jo Cox, a fervent supporter of Britain remaining in the EU, show the "Stay" camp is now slightly ahead of the "Leave" camp in a reveral of their earlier positions. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 18.15 points, or 0.87 percent, to 1,970.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Most large cap stocks traded higher.

Bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.49 percent, top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. increased 0.74 percent, and state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. rose 2.05 percent.

Among losers, leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific Corp. fell 0.12 percent and No. 3 refiner S-Oil Corp. was down 0.25 percent. 

The local currency was trading at 1,164.35 won against the U.S. dollar, up 8.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)