South Korean shares extended gains late Monday morning on advances by large-cap stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 21.97 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,678.30 as of 11:20 a.m. The advance follows Wall Street gains last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4 percent higher Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq spiked 2.03 percent. In Seoul, most large caps were in positive territory despite market kingpin Samsung Electronics shedding 0.13 percent. Top chemicals producer LG Chem surged 6.16 percent, with leading pharmaceutical manufacturer Celltrion adding 3.34 percent. Lead battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 0.67 percent, while SK hynix, the world's second-largest producer of memory chips, rose 0.28 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.40 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors advancing 1.69 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,382.05 won against the U.S. dollar, down 6.75 won from the previous session's close. Source: Yonhap Ne ws Agency