South Korea's KOSPI halted as chip sell-off deepens
The gist
South Korea's bourse operator halted KOSPI trading for 20 minutes on Nov 6 after an 8% plunge.
The AI-boom index has swung violently, hitting ordinary investors and chipmakers alike.
How it unfolded
- Mar 4, 2026The KOSPI plummeted 12.06 percent, its biggest single-day drop ever, surpassing the 12.02 percent fall after the September 11, 2001 attacks; a 20-minute circuit breaker was activated.
- Jul 7, 2026The index closed down 4.9% at 7,656.31 after falling 8.2% earlier in the day, triggering a temporary trading halt; it was down 16% from its June 22 record close of 9,114.55.
- Jul 31, 2026The KOSPI soared 17.9% for its best day in history, closing at 6,595 points, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both up at least 26.8%; it still lost 22% in July.
Key terms
- KOSPI
- The representative stock market index of South Korea, covering all common stocks traded on the Korea Exchange.
- circuit breakers
- A regulatory mechanism that pauses or halts stock trading when prices move sharply to prevent market crashes.
- sell-side sidecars
- An automatic pause on program trading triggered during sharp market falls.
Source: Wikipedia