South Korean stocks fell sharply Thursday following U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments on future interest rate hikes that pushed foreign investors and institutions to offload shares. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) skidded with the start of trading and lost more ground to end the day at 1,919.52, a drop of 0.94 percent, or 18.16 points, from Wednesday's close. The loss comes on the heels of the main bourse dipping in the previous session after moving up earlier in the week.