Seoul shares firm; Kumho Asiana, Daewoo E&C rally

* KOSPI trades firm, up 0.69 pct

* Kumho Asiana shares, Daewoo E&C rally after Daewoo sale
plan news

* Tech, auto shares up on earnings hopes

(Updates to mid-morning)

By Jungyoun Park

SEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) - Seoul shares rose on Monday, led
by Kumho Asiana Group issues, which rallied after news of the
parent group's plans to sell Daewoo Engineering (047040.KS).

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up
0.69 percent at 1,404.19 points as of 0109 GMT.

Kumho Asiana Group shares including Kumho Industrial
(002990.KS) jumped on the news on Sunday that the group has
decided to put Daewoo Engineering & Construction (047040.KS) up
for sale to ease investor worries about its liquidity.
[ID:nSEO340774]

"One of the main factors that had been pressuring Daewoo
Engineering stocks was that Kumho Asiana Group has management
rights over the company," said Cho Joo-hyoung, an analyst at Hana
Daetoo Securities.

"There have been worries about Kumho Asiana Group's financial
health for quite some time.... and concerns that Daewoo
Engineering may have to share the burdens weighed. The news eases
such worries," Cho added.

Kumho Industrial was up 10.87 percent and Kumho Petrochemical
(011780.KS) rose 7.34 percent. Daewoo Engineering spiked 14.4
percent.

The broader KOSPI traded firm, but moved within a boxed range
of about 1,400 points.

"Market atmosphere remains stable...some key economic data
due out this week and earnings figures in July are being
awaited," said Choi Seong-lak, a market analyst at SK Securities.

South Korea's industrial and service sector output growth and
export growth data are due out this week.

"Sectors that are widely expected to beat the market
estimates in their quarterly earnings, such as technology issues,
are outperforming," Choi added.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's No.1 memory chip
maker, was up 1.51 percent and LG Display (034220.KS), the
world's No.2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) advanced 2.66
percent.

Auto issues, one of South Korea's key exporters, also gained,
with Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), South Korea's top automaker, up
2.02 percent and Kia Motors (000270.KS) up 4.23 percent.

Meanwhile, broader construction issues rose despite comments
by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in his radio speech on
Monday that he will not push for a canal project during his term
of office. Lee, however, added that a revamp project for four
major rivers was still necessary.

"The general perception is, there are a lot of overlaps and
little difference between the canal project and four major river
revamp project...I do not think this will be a big negative to
construction issues," said Yoo Soo-min, a market analyst at
Hyundai Securities.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS) rose 0.73
percent and Doosan Engineering & Construction (011160.KS) was up
0.9 percent.

Elsewhere state-run power utilities extended rallies on
Monday after news on Friday that South Korea plans to raise
electricity prices from Saturday. [ID:nSEO314490]

Korea Electric Power Corp (015760.KS) rose 1.86 percent and
Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) (036460.KS) climbed 2.58 percent.

(Editing by Ken Wills)