The Korea Exchange has activated a sell-side circuit breaker on the KOSPI index, halting trading as the benchmark suffered a sharp decline.
The intervention underscores the continued fragility of South Korean equities, which have experienced extreme volatility in recent weeks.
That rebound came after the index had fallen nearly 6% on a previous Friday, driven by aggressive profit-taking in technology shares following a prolonged artificial intelligence-led rally.
This latest trigger follows a period of intense market turbulence.
Just days prior, the exchange had activated a buy-side circuit breaker after the KOSPI rallied sharply from recent lows, surging 4.1% in a single session. That rebound came after the index had fallen nearly 6% on a previous Friday, driven by aggressive profit-taking in technology shares following a prolonged artificial intelligence-led rally.
The rapid oscillation between buy-side and sell-side circuit breakers highlights the difficulty investors face in finding stable footing in the market.
The initial sell-off in late June was triggered by a reversal in sentiment toward tech-heavy stocks, which had been the primary engine of the index's prior gains.
As traders locked in profits, the selling pressure accelerated, eventually triggering the exchange's protective mechanisms.