South Korean stocks opened lower early Thursdays due to losses by large-cap technology shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.74 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,398.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech shares mostly lost ground, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics moving down 1.92 percent and the country's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 2.5 percent. LG Display also surrendered 2.19 percent.

Auto shares also moved in negative terrain, with industry leader Hyundai Motor losing 0.34 percent and its sister company Kia Motor shedding 0.41 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,125.3 won against the US dollar, down 1.3 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)