Seoul shares fell 1.5 percent on Tuesday after gaining more than 5 percent in the previous session, with declines led by technology exporters that had posted the biggest gains on Monday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,454.50 points.
"Volatilities in foreign exchange markets, as was seen with the won currency's rapid weakness on the day, worsened sentiment," said Park So-yeon, a market analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
Data from the South Korean financial market regulator showed on Tuesday that foreign investors have added a net 1.24 trillion won ($1.15 billion) worth of South Korean domestic bonds to their portfolios so far this month, including 50 billion won on Monday.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No 1 memory chip maker, fell 1.29 percent to 536,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor, the No 2, dropped 6.53 percent to 18,600 won. LG Electronics, the world's No 4 cell phone maker, was down 2.96 percent to 98,500 won and LG Display lost 1.28 percent to 27,050 won.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by 544 to 264, with 78 titles ending flat. Trade volume stood at 438 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won, compared with 394 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won on Monday. The KOSPI 200 September futures index fell 2.90 points to 187.40 and the KOSPI 200 spot index lost 2.98 points to 186.99. The junior Kosdaq market went 1 percent lower to 454.82 points.