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

South Korean stocks opened lower on Monday, as investors sat on the sidelines over policy uncertainties under the incoming Trump administration.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.6 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,548.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics moved down 2.11 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.8 percent.

Top battery maker LG Energy Solution, on the other hand, increased 8.91 percent.

Top steelmaker Posco Holdings fell 1.09 percent, and Korea Zinc sank 11.43 percent.

Financial shares also opened bearish, with KB Financial falling 1.18 percent and Shinhan Financial moving down 0.7 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,395.2 won against the greenback, down 8.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)