Seoul shares opened sharply higher Tuesday following a fourth consecutive day of drop caused by political turmoil from President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law declaration last week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 42.17 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,402.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The president faces a criminal investigation in connection with treason and other charges related to his short-lived martial law order last week.

Yoon has entrusted the matter of his term to the ruling party, but the opposition bloc is pushing to oust him through impeachment.

Overnight, the US stock market declined as investors adopted a cautious stance, awaiting this week's inflation data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.62 percent, and the S&P fell 0.61 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.54 percent.

In Seoul, blue chips advanced across the board, with market leader Samsung Electronics up 1.12 percent and chip rival SK hynix adding 0.47 percent.

Automotive and bio shares also enjoyed brisk trading, with Hyundai Motor jumping 3.23 percent and Samsung Biologics gaining 0.73 percent. Energy shares gained traction as well, with top refiner SK Innovation climbing 2.57 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,431.10 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 5.90 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)