Seoul: Seoul shares opened slightly lower on Thursday, marking the first trading session of 2025, as investors remained cautious amidst the ongoing political turbulence surrounding the impeachment trial and investigation against President Yoon Suk Yeol. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) experienced a modest decline, dropping 1.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,397.93 in the initial minutes of trading.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the stock market's opening was delayed by an hour, commencing at 10:00 a.m. due to the main bourse's trade opening event. The South Korean financial market has been grappling with downside risks following President Yoon's brief imposition of martial law on December 3, which subsequently led to the passage of an impeachment motion against him. The state anti-corruption agency is anticipated to move forward with a warrant to detain Yoon for questioning, as early as Thursday, after a Seoul court granted the warrant in a criminal case concerning insurrection charges.

The market's decline was primarily driven by losses in chipmakers and bio shares. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw a decrease of 1.13 percent, while Celltrion fell by 2.19 percent. Steel and chemical stocks also experienced setbacks, with top steelmaker POSCO Holdings losing 0.99 percent and LG Chem sliding 1.6 percent.

Conversely, automotive and financial shares showed resilience. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.47 percent, and KB Financial saw an increase of 1.81 percent. The local currency exhibited slight strength, trading at 1,468.70 won against the U.S. dollar at 10:15 a.m., up 0.60 won from the previous session.