South Korean shares retreated late Wednesday morning from an almost six-year high in the previous session, tracking an overnight decline on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 17.8 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,160.58 as of 11:20 a.m.

Most large caps traded lower with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.08 percent, while global chipmaker SK hynix was up 0.63 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.88 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 1.96 percent lower.

POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker, declined 4.44 percent.

Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, slipped 2.18 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,124.45 won against the US dollar, down 4.15 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)