Seoul shares open higher after Yoon impeachment

Seoul shares kicked off higher Monday on eased market volatility after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over the weekend following his failed martial law bid.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10.79 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,505.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Saturday, the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach Yoon to hold him accountable for his botched martial law declaration earlier this month that shocked the nation.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.36 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 1.77 percent.

Other big-cap shares were mixed.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution was flat, but its smaller rival Samsung SDI gained 1.34 percent.

Bio giant Samsung Biologics dropped 0.3 percent, while Celltrion climbed 0.83 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver advanced 1.19 percent, while Kakao, the operator of the country’s top mobile messenger, lost 0.33 percent.

Automakers, however, started weak, with Hyundai Motor and Kia down 0.23 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,430.30 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 2.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)