Seoul shares eased marginally on Friday, pulling back from a three-week high seen in the previous session, as concerns over US political wrangling for a deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" hung over the South Korean market. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.1 percent at 1,932.90 points, despite continued buying from institutional and foreign investors. The KOSPI managed to post a monthly gain of 1.1 percent in November, as it has rebounded since mid-November.

The US political debate could dash prospects of a budget agreement this year, said Lee Jae-hoon, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. Heavyweights fell on Friday, with Samsung Electronics declining 0.6 percent and Hyundai Motor down 2.2 percent. Shipbuilders extended gains, with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering firming nearly 3 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries rising 1.8 percent.

SK Hynix ended down 3.9 percent at its lowest closing level in one month after analysts' reports that memory chip prices fell in the second half of November because of weak demand for personal computers. Gaining shares outnumbered decliners 413 to 368. The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks fell 0.2 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ edged 0.5 percent higher.

Copyright Reuters, 2012