'Black Tuesday': KOSPI Plunges 9.99%... Fifth-Largest Drop in History

Fourth Circuit Breaker Activated This Year

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Drop 12%

KOSDAQ Hits New Yearly Low

The KOSPI closed with a steep drop of nearly 10%. After a sell-sidecar was triggered in the morning, a Level 1 circuit breaker was also activated in the afternoon. The KOSDAQ index also fell by about 8%, breaking below the 900 mark.

On June 23 at the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI ended trading at 8,203.84, down 910.71 points (9.99%) from the previous session. This marks the fifth-largest drop in KOSPI history. The highest single-day decline was 12.06% on March 4 of this year, following the impact of the Middle East war between the United States and Iran.

After opening lower and fluctuating around the 9,000 level, the KOSPI began to decline steadily from around 9:20 a.m. In the KOSDAQ market, a temporary suspension of program sell orders was implemented at 11:37 a.m., and a sell-sidecar was triggered in the KOSPI market at 11:40 a.m.

As losses deepened in the afternoon, the Korea Exchange activated a Level 1 circuit breaker at 2:33 p.m. Trading in the KOSPI market was halted for 20 minutes after the index had dropped by more than 8% from the previous day's close and remained at that level for one minute.

On June 23, the KOSPI index opened at 9,083.54, down 31.01 points compared to the previous trading day. The status of the domestic stock market is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

On this day, individual investors were net buyers of 8.5223 trillion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 4.1017 trillion won and 4.5120 trillion won, respectively.

All industry sectors declined. The electrical and electronics sector fell by 11.92%, while medical and precision instruments (-10.37%), construction (-9.75%), transportation equipment and parts (-8.87%), distribution (-8.6%), and machinery and equipment (-7.97%) also saw decreases.

Among the top market cap stocks, all declined except for Shinhan Financial Group, which edged up by 0.2%. Hanmi Semiconductor dropped 14.4%, while Samsung C&T (-12.5%), SK hynix (-12.4%), Samsung Electronics (-12.4%), LG Innotek (-12.3%), Hyundai Motor Company (-12%), Samsung SDI (-12%), LG Electronics (-11.2%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-10.6%), Hyundai Mobis (-10.3%), and Hanwha Ocean (-10.3%) also posted losses.

The KOSDAQ index also closed at 891.52, down 76.88 points (7.94%) from the previous session, marking a new yearly low. Individual investors were net sellers of 398.3 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 258.8 billion won and 132.4 billion won, respectively.

Looking at the top market cap stocks, all declined except for Recochem Bio, which gained 3%. Pado fell by 22.5%, while Jeju Semiconductor (-17.3%), Sung Ho Electronics (-14.9%), Seojin System (-14.6%), TES (-14%), Techwing (-14%), Eugene Technology (-13.5%), VM (-13%), Wonik IPS (-12.9%), and Soulbrain (-12.8%) all posted losses.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,539.1 won, up 2.1 won from the previous trading day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.