Seoul shares lower on Cyprus; Samsung Elec extends loss

SEOUL, March 18 (Reuters) - South Korean shares ticked lower on Monday as Cyprus works on a last-minute proposal to soften the impact on smaller savers of a bank deposit levy after a parliamentary vote on the measure, central to a bailout, was postponed.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.8 percent at 1,970.20 points at 0003 GMT.

Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 2.9 percent, extending Friday's 2.6 percent loss after launching its new smartphone, Galaxy S4. (Reporting by Somang Yang; Editing by Paul Tait)