South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, surging by 13 percent, driven by gains in semiconductor shares stemming from an overnight rally in US tech giants backed by a strong earnings report from US tech giant Microsoft. After opening 1.15 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index widened gains, raking in 727.42 points, or 13 percent, to 6,320.98 as of 9:15 a.m. The country's benchmark suffered a deep rout for the past three consecutive sessions. The KOSPI fell near