An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday after the key index hit a 20-month low the previous session amid global recession woes.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.62 points, or 0.81 percent, to 2,318.96 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Large-cap stocks gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.7 percent and chip giant SK hynix jumping nearly 3 percent.

Internet portal provider Naver also soared 3.8 percent, and major chemical firm LG Chem gained more than 3 percent.

Auto shares declined. Top player Hyundai Motor fell more than 2 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia lost about 1.9 percent. Major refiner S-Oil was also down about 1 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,294.70 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 2.4 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap)