An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Aug 12. (Yonhap)

South Korean shares opened a tad higher Tuesday led by tech advances, tracking overnight US gains, despite woes over China's economic slowdown.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 7.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to trade at 2,535.51 points as of 9:15 a.m.

Stocks got off to a solid start despite weaker-than-expected economic data from China, the country's top trading partner.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics advanced 0.33 percent as its de facto chief Lee Jae-yong was granted a presidential pardon last week over a bribery case involving a former South Korean president.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.93 percent.

The country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, rose 0.51 percent, with bio heavyweight Celltrion climbing 1.2 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,310.75 won against the US dollar, down 8.35 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)