[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened lower on Oct. 12, on Samsung Electronics’ decision to discontinue its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

The benchmark KOSPI lost 2.73 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,029.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The weak start also followed overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 1.09 percent to 18,128.66 on Oct. 11 (New York time).

Samsung Electronics plunged 2.91 percent, marking a third consecutive session of drop after reaching a record high of 1,706,000 won (US$1,517.66) on Friday.

Such a sharp and continuous drop was apparently triggered by its decision to halt global sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which had been placed under a global recall for battery-related problems. On Oct. 11, it decided to discontinue the model.

Others traded mixed.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 0.37 percent, while top portal operator Naver spiked 1.28 percent.

Cosmetics giant AmorePacific added 0.54 percent, but leading chemicals producer LG Chemical shed 0.43 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,124.05 won against the US dollar, down 3.65 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)