SEOUL — The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) traded 1.62 percent lower late Thursday morning, primarily due to losses in battery and tech shares.
According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Energy Solution led the decline with a 2.69 percent drop, while POSCO Future M sank 4.19 percent. The world's largest memory chipmaker, Samsung Electronics, also fell 1.13 percent, and its rival SK hynix declined by 2.46 percent. LG Electronics retreated by 0.28 percent and its affiliate LG Display lost 0.57 percent. Kakao, the operator of the leading mobile chat app KakaoTalk, slid 2.75 percent after the arrest of its chief investment officer for alleged stock price manipulation.