A stock ticker in the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul shows the benchmark KOSPI finishing at 8,394.65, down 0.20 percent from the previous session, Monday.
The secondary bourse Kosdaq, by contrast, significantly outperformed the main board, surging more than 8 percent to close at 920.57.
Yonhap Seoul stocks ended mixed Monday as persistent foreign selling kept the benchmark KOSPI in negative territory, while the government's announcement of a large-scale semiconductor investment initiative fueled a broad rally in the Kosdaq and small-cap growth shares.
The sustained foreign exodus also weighed on the Korean won.
In Seoul's onshore foreign exchange market, the won weakened 13.2 won against the U.S. dollar to close at 1,545.2.
