South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning, as investors opted to cash in recent gains. Samsung, the top cap here, slid after reporting its all-time high earnings for the second quarter.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.30 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,382.51 as of 11:15 a.m.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.04 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 0.44 percent.

Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 2.57 percent.

Top steelmaker POSCO gained 0.85 percent, and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. fell 0.12 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,157.25 won against the US dollar, up 0.25 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)