South Korean shares traded higher late Thursday morning as hopes for an economic stimulus by the nation's new administration buoyed market sentiment.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  added 18.79 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,288.01 as of 11:20 a.m.

Large caps mostly traded higher with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 0.53 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.72 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.64 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 1.25 percent higher.

Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, gained 3.64 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,133.10 won against the US dollar, up 2.7 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)