South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors' sentiment was dented by the weak Japanese currency, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 9.43 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,923.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Tech blue chips traded lower, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1.47 percent and its smaller domestic rival LG Electronics losing 0.26 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix declined 0.31 percent.

Brokerage houses also traded bearish, with Samsung Securities losing 0.82 percent and KDB Daewoo Securities falling 1.87 percent. Woori Investment & Securities shed 0.85 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,130.55 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 3.25 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)