In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI climbed 1.9 percent to 4,393.5 points as of 10:20 a.m. Monday. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ added 0.6 percent to 950.98.
Overall market gains were measured rather than euphoric, but buying interest remained firm in heavyweight exporters and chipmakers.
Samsung Electronics jumped 5.1 percent to 134,950 won ($93.3), while SK hynix rose 1.7 percent to 690,000 won, as expectations built ahead of Samsung’s fourth-quarter earnings guidance due later this week.
Battery and industrial names also advanced. LG Energy Solution, the country’s third-largest company by market value, gained 1.8 percent to 367,500 won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries edged up 0.79 percent to 508,000 won, while Hanwha Aerospace surged 4.1 percent to 985,000 won. Korea Zinc also added 0.7 percent to 1,295,000 won.
By contrast, entertainment stocks slid amid speculation that Beijing’s de facto restrictions on Korean cultural content were unlikely to ease following the Korea–China summit.
HYBE fell 2.6 percent to 336,000 won, JYP Entertainment dropped 5.7 percent to 73,200 won, SM Entertainment slid 9.2 percent to 120,200 won, and YG Entertainment lost 6.7 percent to 65,700 won.
In Tokyo, Japanese stocks also opened the year strongly. The Nikkei 225 jumped 2.6 percent to 51,670, supported by gains in autos, financials and technology-linked shares.
Among major heavyweights, Toyota Motor rose 1.9 percent to 3,420 yen ($21.8), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 2.1 percent to 2,544 yen, and SoftBank Group advanced 4.4 percent to 4,597 yen.
Elsewhere in Asia, gains were more restrained as investors assessed broader geopolitical risks.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.7 percent to 3,997.5, while Hang Seng Index added 0.2 percent to 26,381.
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