South Korean stocks opened lower Friday taking a cue from overnight losses on Wall Street, although Samsung Electronics, the country's top market cap, delivered market forecast-beating earnings for the second quarter.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.15 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,382.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.66 percent, and major chipmaker SK hynix was 0.73 percent down.

Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, declined 1.29 percent, while AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, dipped 2.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,156.45 won against the US dollar, up 0.95 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)