South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as investors sat on the sidelines amid the lack of growth momentum in the market, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.04 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,995.34 as of 11:20 a.m.

Shipbuilders lost ground, with Hyundai Heavy Industries moving down 1.35 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries losing 0.4 percent. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering declined 2 percent.

Tech shares traded mixed, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.34 percent while top chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.1 percent. LG Electronics added 1.06 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,052.75 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 0.25 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)