Seoul shares open higher after Greek PM calls off vote

Korean shares got off to a strong start on Friday as Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's move to scrap his plan for a nationwide vote on a bailout deal abated investor concerns on the eurozone, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 37.57 points, or 2.01 percent, to 1,907.53 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with blue chips posting firm gains. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed 2.07 percent and top refiner SK Innovation jumped 5.26 percent.

In contrast, LG Electronics, which plunged 13.73 percent in the previous session on a share sale plan, slipped 0.49 percent.

Earlier this week, the Greek leader had announced a plan to put a European rescue deal to a referendum, astonishing his European counterparts and causing political backlash.

The local currency was trading at 1,112.35 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 17.55 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap)