South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning as investors attempted to lock in gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 9.34 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,143.41 as of 11:15 a.m.

Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics shed 1.53 percent as investors tried to cash in recent gains. Earlier in the day, the tech behemoth estimated its first-quarter operating profit at 9.9 trillion won ($8.76 billion), up 48.2 percent on-year, apparently helped by the robust performance of its chip business.

SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 1.01 percent, and Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dipped 2.03 percent on news that it is recalling a large number of cars over faulty engines.

Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, also slid 1.07 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,138.20 won against the US dollar, down 5.00 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)