"The comments from Germany gave the market a good excuse to take profit on the latest gains," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities. Germany said on Monday that a summit of EU leaders next Sunday would not produce a miracle cure for the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, a warning that pushed down markets in Europe and elsewhere after a rise over the past week on expectations of a breakthrough. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 1.32 percent at 1,849.61 points as of 0111 GMT. Foreign investors were sellers of a net 74.5 billion won($65.3 million) worth of stocks, poised to snap a three-session buying streak. Investment managers offloaded a net 27.9 billion won, selling stocks for a fourth straight session. Shares in Samsung Life tumbled nearly 6 percent after CJ Group member companies sold 4 million shares in the insurer via a block sale at 85,500 won per share, a discount to the previous day's closing price of 90,000 won. Shares in CJ O Shopping , one of the companies that sold a stake in the insurer, outperformed the broader market, edging up 0.3 percent. Hana Financial Group also beat the broader market after South Korea begun a process of ordering Lone Star to cut its stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) after a court ruling against it, clearing the path for the long-awaited sale of KEB to Hana. "These steps will surely expedite Lone Star's KEB stake sale. It seems Hana Financial is nearly there in acquiring KEB," said Shim Hyun-soo, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities. "Hana Financial will also have higher bargaining power as Lone Star will have to sell within a limited time frame," Shim added. Hana shares slipped 0.5 percent and KEB edged down 0.9 percent. Shares in Himart rose 0.2 percent after South Korea's top electronics retailer said late on Monday that its third quarter net profit jumped 31.3 percent to 47 billion won. Defensive issues, which were left out of the market's recent rally, attracted interest again. Shares in Nong Shim , a snack and instant noodle manufacturer, rose 0.2 percent and KT Corp , the country's No.2 mobile phone operator, advanced 0.13 percent.